The Return of the Watchers (Armageddon Rising Book 1) (2 page)

              “Yeah, she'll persuade him to throw us into the volcano and sacrifice the two of us so they can retire in peace,” Aki joked. They both laughed. Yuki said her goodbyes, then looked at the email letter that had the Japanese characters for “Important” in the subject line.                                           She opened the email and read the following message.                            “
Yuki, there is something that I need for you to do for our family. I was contacted through a business associate of mine regarding a person of interest that you are working with. A wealthy European businessman has some knowledge of your research and the professor you are working for. His name is Theodore Dantanian and he would like to discuss a proposal with you in person. From what I am told, he is a venture capitalist who has backed many companies in the past and is aggressively financing biotechnology firms. It may be a long shot, but this meeting could be a very important chance towards securing a good financial future for our family. I have the contact information for one of his personal assistants at the bottom of the email. Go see him and find out what he wants.
”                            Pondering the email for some time, she tried to understand what this was all about.                                                                                                                 “Huntington’s affects so few people that any discoveries made would pay back little if any profit. I would assume that with his resources he could easily find out what we have, and determine whether it’s worth backing without me. We’re not real close on anything right now, anyway. I wonder who this person of interest I work with is?” For some reason she had a sense of foreboding about meeting this man.             

              There was barely any sleep for her that night, but when she awoke the following morning she had received another email from her father with the subject line “Did you call him?”

              Sighing to herself, she got up, made a cup of tea and ate some breakfast.  After a quick shower, she wrote down the phone number of the investor and headed out to clean off her car, which had accumulated a few inches of snow and ice from last night’s flurries. The cold hit her like a thousand tiny knives and she realized she wasn’t dressed properly for being outside more than a few minutes.                                                                        “I should have taken a position at the University of Miami, or UC Berkley. I’m sick of snow,” she complained. While sitting in the car as it warmed up, she reached for her cell phone and called the number given to her. The phone rang three times and just as she was about to hang up, someone answered.                                                                                                                 “Ah, Miss Yuki, Ohayou gozaimasu.” It was a female voice on the other side.                                                                                                                               “Ohayou,” Yuki quickly replied.                                                                       “Allow me to introduce myself. My Name is April Wind and I represent a multinational investor by the name of Theodore Dantanian. Mr. Dantanian would very much like to meet with you to discuss a business proposal that he feels you will find intriguing and beneficial to you and your family. Would you be willing to take a flight to New York tomorrow afternoon for a dinner meeting? All expenses will be paid of course.”                                                                                                                               “What sort of proposal and where exactly will I be going?” she asked, somewhat skeptical and suspicious at the lack of details for the meeting.                                                                                                                               “Well, it involves a person of interest at your work. Mr Dantanian will explain the rest. Let me tell you that your father had many questions himself before he even allowed us to speak with you,” April replied with a chuckle. “We have a first class flight reserved for a two p.m. departure from Detroit to New York. A table has been reserved at the Ritz Carlton Hotel restaurant next to Central Park in Manhattan. After the dinner meeting you can stay the night at the hotel if you wish or we can have you flown back later that evening. As a token of our appreciation for listening to our proposal, we will offer you ten ounces of gold to be sent to your residence in Michigan, or anywhere you would like.”                                          After the collapse of the global economy, many people preferred precious metals over fiat currencies; too many of the latter had become mattress stuffing and fodder for the fireplace. The Euro was not faring any better, nor most of the other major currencies. There was talk about gold backed credits or GBC’s becoming the new global currency, but most people still desired physical gold and silver, both of which were in very high demand. Ten ounces for just listening seemed too good to pass up.

              “I will listen to your proposal tomorrow,” Yuki stated formally.               “Excellent. Mr. Dantanian will be pleased; we look forward to seeing you. I can have the itinerary of your flight sent to your phone in just a few minutes.  As I mentioned, a driver will be waiting for you at LaGuardia. If anything should come up, please call ahead; Mr. Dantanian does not like to be kept waiting as he is extremely busy. Is that acceptable?”                                                                                                                                “This is acceptable,” Yuki replied, unsure if she was making the right decision.              

Tw
o
             

              The moment had arrived to find out what this mystery man Theodore Dantanian wanted from her. She made her way over to the restaurant entrance and the door was opened for her by the maitre d'.               “Hello, um, I am supposed to be meeting-”.                                                         “Here for Mr. Dantanian? Right this way, Ma’am,” the maitre d’ said.                                                                                                                                            The restaurant was somewhat empty, with tourism and the economy being down. As she was being escorted to her table, she noticed the curious glances from the patrons in the dining room and had a terrible thought of them happily feasting upon her in place of their meals. The appetites of the rich are seldom satisfied; she felt a twinge of guilt for being here when so many outside were hungry.                                                         There was a couple sitting next to each other near the back of the dining room that she determined to be Mr. Dantanian and Ms. Wind. They both stood as Yuki approached and a waiter moved in behind a chair to pull it out for her to sit.                                                                                                   “Konnichiwa, miss Yuki,” Mr. Dantanian stated, extending his hand to her. His appearance was that of an aristocrat, judging by his impeccably tailored navy blue Armani suit and the fine Italian leather shoes he wore, along with the exotic watch that most likely had cost a mountain of money. His black hair was well groomed; short, with a bit of grey on the sides, giving him an apparent age of about 45. Rounding out the look, he had a three muscular bodyguards with matching black suits and white shirts sitting at the table behind him. April was sitting alongside him. She appeared to be about 30 years old, with curly flowing blonde hair and an hourglass figure sporting a black business skirt.              

              “Konnichiwa,” Yuki replied in a very soft voice, barely making eye contact while gently taking his hand. She placed her coat on top of the adjacent chair and sat across from the pair.                                                                       “I trust your flight was satisfactory?” he asked politely. His accent did not reveal his country of origin.                                          

              “It was fine, thank you.”                                                                                     At that moment several waiters arrived with trays full of sushi and other Asian appetizers.                                                                                     “Seafood. How typical,” Yuki thought.                                                         “Please, enjoy,” he said, mindful of his guest. “Care for something to drink?”                                                                                                                                “Water will be fine, thank you.” She was beginning to feel a bit more at ease, gaining her confidence.                                                                       “First, I must apologize for asking you to see me on such short notice. My schedule requires me to take advantage of opportunities in various locations around the world at any given time whenever they arise, which necessitates extensive planning of logistics by my assistant. I make sure she earns her ridiculous salary,” he said with a slight laugh. April quietly smiled.                                                                                                                 “You’re probably wondering why I brought you here so I’ll get right down to it. Some time ago, a contact of mine at Primase, I’m sure you’re familiar with them, had gave me some information regarding Dr. Dorian Lystad that piqued my interest. How well do you know Dr. Lystad?”                                                                                                                                Yuki thought back to the first time she and Dr. Lysad had met in person, after exchanging emails across the planet. After joining the lab, she had spent the last two years working 60-plus-hour weeks there, sharing many conversations and meals with him. He had dropped her off at her apartment once when her car wouldn’t start, but they had always maintained a professional relationship. There was a mutual admiration and respect between them and she hoped one day they might become more than just colleagues.                                                                                                  

              “Specifically, how well do you know of his research?” Mr. Dantanian asked, shifting his approach. An easy question; this was her area of expertise.              

              “I know everything about his research. Currently we’re looking into creating a vector for correction of the point mutation of the Htt gene for Huntington’s disease,” she said with precision.                                                         “I was not referring to that research,” he replied.                            

She frowned and looked over at April for a second. “I’m not sure I understand what you are speaking of; this is the only research we are conducting at this time.”                                          

              “As you know, Dr. Lystad was one of the top researchers at Primase working on a cure for cancer. According to those he worked with, he was quite a dedicated man. I was told he spent countless hours working in the lab, day after day without a single vacation or day off, and then one day he quits.” Dantanian snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”                             Dantanian continued, “I am aware that he had some issues of conscience with the company. However, that doesn’t quite explain his rapid departure and abandonment of his research. Also, the data he left was incomplete and appeared to have sections removed. Why would he do that?”  Yuki was processing the information and was about to offer a speculative response when he continued.                                                                       “To a corporate attorney, his actions could be construed as those of someone who made an important discovery and possibly took that discovery to a competitor, earning enough to drop out and start up again in academia.” He stopped himself and held out his hand as if to answer a retort to that statement.                                                                                    

              “Yes, I am aware he signed non-compete and non-disclosure agreements, but with good lawyers they can be circumvented,” he added, examining her facial expression to see what allegiance she had towards Dr. Lystad. The answer became obvious as her eyes narrowed with a sour look on her face. She knew Dorian enough to know that he was an honorable man, not motivated by making money or by grabbing glory and attention for himself; he was quite the opposite of that in her eyes.                            “There is much more to the story than that, however. According to my contact, Dr. Lystad was very surreptitious, drawing suspicion from some of the other researchers. Despite his lofty position, the senior management issued a directive to monitor his activity as a result of his odd behavior. As you can imagine, the situation was rather delicate; Lystad was a Nobel Prize winner with friends in high places within the company. They didn’t want to accuse him of wrongdoing without evidence, and yet they couldn’t easily search through his work without alerting him and others not privy to the situation. There was also a concern they might have a bio-terrorist on their hands,” he added, watching her closely.                            Yuki thought to herself how absurd that statement sounded, but she kept her cool.                                                                                                                  “Shortly thereafter, under video surveillance, he was observed placing some vials into a restricted refrigeration unit. The concerned party obtained access to the refrigerator and discreetly removed a bit of what it contained. It seems their suspicions were justified based on what they found.”                                                                                                                               Yuki felt a bit of shock, as if she was going to be told the man she knew and trusted was involved in something nefarious; the restaurant became a vacuum, devoid of all sound save the voice of Dantanian.               “It turned out to be a blood sample unlike any found here on earth. In fact, we’re not even sure if it’s human.”                                                                       “What do you mean?” she asked.                                                                      “It had 49 chromosomes with three pairs on the 7
th
and a whole new 24
th
chromosome pair,” he said, glancing at April's notes. “Now, I don’t know much about genetics, but the experts I consulted advised that 24 chromosome pairs belonged to our ancestors as well as primates.” Dantanian looked over at April who pointed to a word on a document she had on her planner. “Yes, the-,”                                                                  “Hominids, ancient humans,” Yuki interjected.                                           “Very good, Miss Yuki, that’s correct,” he said, impressed with her knowledge.                                                                                                                               “Three copies of the seventh chromosome in the sample have never been reported in a living organism. Interestingly enough, the extra 24
th
chromosome is different than the Hominid variety.”                                           Yuki's mind was jumping ahead, wondering what this was leading to.              “Even with the chromosomal anomaly,” Dantanian continued, “when the sample was provided with nourishment none of the cells had died, almost 3 years later. In addition, the immune cells contained within the blood sample fought off every type of disease we could throw at it.” He looked at a note written on April’s planner.                                                         “HIV, the plague, ebola, MRSA, VRE, salmonella, typhus, tuberculosis, Legionnaire’s, and so on.”