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"You mean, that was it? You mean the animals went nuts and no more Black Flag?" |
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Jerry's heart sank. "Then why didn't Dr. Terranova want to talk about it?" |
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"Conscience?" Jerry said. |
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"We were toying with the science of extermination. It was wrong. It also violated the Geneva Convention, but we let ourselves get down into it by the intellectual challenge of gene-splicing and, I suppose, the political pressure. Fortunately, the project failed." |
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Jerry studied Wiley's face. There was nothing in it that suggested he was not telling the truth. |
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"Why, after all these years, do they want you all dead?" |
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The skin of Wiley's face tightened. |
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"Please don't kill me . . . my daughter . . ." |
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Jerry raised the gun toward Wiley's face. "Think hard." |
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"No, God, please don't. I don't know. I don't know. I've told you everything" |
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"Even if somebody leaked, the project was a flop, no?" |
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"Yes. There's no advantage in killing anybody." Wiley was squirming in his chair. He wiped his face again. The skin under his eyes was shiny puffs. |
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Jerry felt the excitement again. He wanted to shoot him. He wanted to ram the barrel into his mouth and drink from his eyes as he pulled the trigger. But that wasn't the plan. |
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"I asked if you had any guesses." |
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"No, no. I don't have a clue." |
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"When was the last time you talked with Maria Terranova or Stefan Karsky?" |
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His voice was a high, thin treble. "Maria, I saw maybe five, six years ago at a conference in Washington. Karsky, I haven't seen since the early seventies." |
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"The same. Maria was the only one I saw." |
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"Stand up and turn around." |
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