The Delta Chain (47 page)

‘Good Lord.
’
Westmeyer
’
s shoulders slumped. He was still as good at play-acting as he ever was.
‘
This is…dreadful. A disaster.
’

Asquith alighted from the car, shaking the hand of the patrol officer. He introduced himself.
‘
I
’
m organising the think tank that Mr. Westmeyer and his colleagues have been invited to attend.
’

The patrolman nodded.

Asquith turned to Westmeyer.
‘
An incredible shock, William. I understand, of course, if you can
’
t travel to Chicago with me at this time.
’

‘Mr. Westmeyer,
’
the patrolman said,
‘
we
’
ve been asked to escort you back to Northern Rocks. A special task force is looking into this and will need to interview all your staff, including yourself and Mr. Donnelly.
’

‘Of course, of course.
’

‘You can easily delay heading to the seminar for 36 hours,
’
Asquith said helpfully.
‘
So you can always decide to attend at that time, should you feel that
’
s still possible.
’

‘Sounds like the best solution,
’
Donnelly said.

‘Sir,
’
the policeman addressed Asquith this time,
‘
I have a special request from the task force superintendent, that all members of Mr. Westmeyer
’
s travelling party are required in Northern Rocks to assist with enquiries.
’
The police officer seemed a little embarrassed having to make the point, but his tone was firm.
‘
That includes the occupants of the other vehicles that were hired. They
’
re all currently being intercepted and escorted back.
’

‘Surely this isn
’
t necessary-
’
Westmeyer began.

‘According to my orders, yes it is, sir.
’

‘Are we being placed under arrest?
’
Asquith demanded.

‘I have warrants for your arrests, but the superintendent would prefer us not to invoke them. He feels it would be better for all concerned if you were able to co-operate of your own free will at this time.
’

‘Then of course, we will.
’
Asquith was seething inside. Strike and counter strike, cleverly played. He
’
d been checkmated, manoeuvred into co-operating with the local authorities.

Tannen had said nothing all this time, remaining in the background. He
’
d wanted to stay with Erickson, and wished now that he had. Asquith had been annoyed that both Hunter and Erickson had disappeared on him, but now it seemed that was the better choice.

Once they were back in the car, heading off with the police vehicle right behind them, Tannen said,
‘
What the hell do we do now?
’

‘Shut up, Tannen.
’
Asquith
’
s tone was condescending, his lips curled into an animal snarl.
‘
Let me think.
’

It was when his back was against the wall that Asquith
’
s lethal military mind went into overdrive.

It was a moment of sheer horror for Adam, Elizabeth and Daniel: the scream; the long reptilian bodies in the watery half-light; the jaw clamping down over Daniel
’
s arm.

Adam was momentarily distracted by a bright silvery glint. It was from a twisted piece of metal, part of the wreckage littering the subterranean maze.

Adam picked it up and rushed forward, slamming the jagged edge of the metal junk deep into the crocodile
’
s left eye. The creature reared back, its jaw going slack and releasing the boy
’
s arm. Blood pumped from the eye as the reptile writhed in pain, thrashing and rolling repeatedly in the shallow river.

A deep, bloody gash ran the full length of Daniel
’
s arm. Adam grabbed him by his good arm and pulled Elizabeth toward him at the same time.

‘Go!
’

They ran back, away from the rushing water and the crocodiles that were now flooding into the area.

But Adam could not see where they were running. He could see walls of stone, he could see pools of light, but mostly there was darkness and no clear points of reference, just grotesque shapes in the shadows. And deep recesses that were pitch black. Water ran everywhere and the crocodiles, freed from whatever had held them, could be all over the caverns. Hungry, vicious, in their element, ready to strike.

They had no defence against them.

Kate fell flat on her back on the roof of the elevator car, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. She coughed and moaned as Hunter took her by the hand.
‘
Kate, Kate, my God, are you okay?
’

‘Yes…
’
Slowly she sat up. She looked up at the doors above, then to Stephen.

‘I think we
’
re stuck here for the time being, Kate.
’

She didn
’
t reply. She breathed deeply and slowly, the nervous energy finally dropping away. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of Markham, lying below, and Adam. Where was Adam? What were the chances now he was even alive?

‘Just who are those bastards that did this?
’

‘The men behind the Institute. Nexus. Some kind of breakaway research unit, hiding inside U.S. Defence. All the other investors are just kept around for show. The real money, the real control comes from Nexus and a guy called Logan Asquith. But you were right the first time. They
’
re just bastards.
’

‘And the Delta Chain?
’

‘Let me try and explain
–
in layman
’
s terms, as best I can.
’

‘Don
’
t patronize me, Stephen. Just tell me.
’

‘Okay. You probably know that most of the molecules in the human DNA strand are not used. They once had a function but whatever those functions were they
’
ve long since been lost.
’

‘I
’
ve heard that somewhere, yeah.
’

‘The main molecules of use to us, now, are in chains of amino acids we call proteins. The haemoglobin in our blood is just one of those proteins. It
’
s made up of two amino acid chains. Of the thirteen hundred amino acids we have, only five are different from our closest relative in the animal world, the chimpanzee. Just five amino acids that make us human. Three of these are in a particular enzyme, one is in a molecule protein, and the fifth is in our blood, in a haemoglobin chain we call the Delta Chain.

‘We
’
ve been using that chain for our recombinant DNA, splicing human and crocodile haemoglobin.
’

‘I gather there
’
s some purpose to this.
’

‘In biogenetics, Kate, differences in the chemistry of proteins has long been used as a kind of evolutionary road map, flagging how mankind developed, how we separated from other species…
’

‘Like the chimpanzee.
’

‘Yes. But going much further back than that. All life on earth started in the oceans. Variations in the DNA of different species can help scientists determine how mutations occurred, splitting into different species right back near the dawn of time.
’

Kate was aware of a quaver in his voice, an excitement. This was his passion.

‘Okay,
’
said Kate, focusing.
‘
So when mutations caused a new species to evolve, certain functions within our human genes, within our DNA strand, became…
’
She searched her mind for the right word.

‘Dormant,
’
Hunter completed the thought. He snapped his fingers.
‘
You
’
ve got it, understood it, just like that.
’

‘Spare me, Stephen. Just…tell me, explain this Delta Chain project.
’
Her anger was coming and going in flashes, punctuated by her need to know the truth. To make sense of everything that had happened.

‘With recombinant DNA, geneticists have been able to splice different human genes together to create genes with enhanced functions, super-genes if you like, the intention being to recreate proteins,
reactivate
dormant genes within the DNA strand. Abilities that humans once had, long ago, could be returned to us.
’

‘And that
’
s what Delta Chain is about?
’

‘Partly. But only partly. Don
’
t you see? That
’
s the reason for the crocodiles, for their blood being drawn and kept in tanks, for the haemoglobin…
’

‘No, I don
’
t see anything.
’

‘William and I had the same vision. That
’
s why he sought me out and brought me in on his project. He was much further along, but I was working on related experiments he believed fitted the overall pattern. With DataStorming accelerating our research a thousand-fold, we were in the very final stages…
’

‘Not just because of DataStorming,
’
Kate said, the final pieces of the puzzle falling into place,
‘
but because you
’
ve been experimenting with human guinea pigs, haven
’
t you…?
’

‘Think, Kate…
visualise
…there is only a small percentage difference between the DNA of human and crocodile haemoglobin. Crocs breathe air, but are capable of storing large amounts of oxygen in their blood, enabling them to exist underwater for long periods.’

‘So that
’
s it.
’
Kate sucked in deep mouthfuls of air as though trying to cleanse her system of this twisted vision.
‘
Creating a hybrid blood gene so that people could store oxygen and survive underwater for …
’

‘Twenty minutes. A real breakthrough, but eventually
–
hours, Kate. Hours.
’

‘You infused young people with samples of their own blood
–
with their haemoglobin genetically altered. You experimented on them one at a time, to see how long they lasted underwater.
’
There was no inflection in Kate
’
s voice. A steady, icy monotone, a study in deep revulsion. She could taste bile in her mouth.
‘
You were prepared to sacrifice young lives for some stupid vision.
’

Hunter hung his head.
‘
I don
’
t know how I got so…sucked in. I didn
’
t know about the human guinea pigs at first, Kate, I swear. It wasn
’
t until later, when I
’
d become so much a part of the project, that Westmeyer came clean, told me there was a hidden lab replicating my mice experiments, but on kids.
Kids
. Westmeyer kept selling me on the greater good but I was never comfortable. He was obsessed with his vision, ever since he saw the possibility back in Vietnam.
’

‘Vietnam…?
’

‘He and some religious weirdo went AWOL from their troop, disappeared in the jungle and linked up with some Vietnamese religious cult.
’

‘He told you this?
’

‘Yes. I know it doesn
’
t sound like William, but this was over 30 years ago. He was very young and they were crazy times. Lots of those guys went troppo over there. William fell madly in love with one of the villagers. She was deliberately drowned by the Vietcong. Later, wandering the rivers, he and the other guy, Vender, watched the crocs, and discussed the oxygen storing capabilities of the creatures. William became obsessed with discovering a way to make humans “breathe” underwater, apparently for the memory of his great love. But mostly, I think, because of his supersize ego. Later on, when he returned to America and a life of scientific research, supported by his Army buddies, he envisioned how DNA splicing could make it possible.
’

‘And that was this Delta Chain?
’

‘Yes. William told me it was out there, on the Mekong Delta, watching the crocs, that he was prompted to think of the Delta Chain haemoglobin. And so it was a chain of events from there, involving this Nexus mob, and men like Erickson, Donnelly and Asquith that he first met in the delta. And Vender. He runs some cult now. That
’
s where the kids come from.
’

Kate shook her head, trying to take it all in.

It explained the Vietnamese name of Westmeyer
’
s boat…

‘I thought I knew him, thought he was a decent man. And to think A.B.C.S.
’
software helped him along.
’

‘Kate, please understand that Westmeyer had me believing that the death of a few was worth it for the thousands who die from drowning every year. Every year, Kate…
’

‘I don
’
t believe I
’
m hearing this, I can
’
t believe I
’
m actually listening to it. You turned a blind eye to something horrendous because you preferred to keep your eye on the prize. You wanted to be a part of one of the century
’
s greatest scientific teams, didn
’
t you? I knew you were a sleazebag but how could you, how could anyone, do something like this?
’