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"What news?" Calvin said, his voice wooden. |
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"Julius Wick and Claire Manning are dead." |
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For a moment Calvin couldn't process the significance of the news. "How . . .?" |
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"They were killed last night when their jet caught fire over the Jersey coast. It's in the news. They're saying it was a faulty fuel line or ruptured tank." |
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Calvin listened, still not clear about the significance of this news. |
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"There's more," Waite said. He unfolded a sheet of paper from his jacket pocket. "I've got a good friend at the Washington Post. After we talked yesterday, I called her. I told her I needed background on the new biotech czar. Deep background that might mean prying things open with the Freedom of Information Act. Of course, all Washington is closed down for the weekend, but bureaucrats are bureaucrats, and some even work on Christmas Day. I told her it was red alert and I needed stuff now. She owed me a favor and, to make a long story short, she found somebody at the National Security Archives who was burning the midnight oil. She just faxed me this." He handed the memo to Calvin. |
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"BiOmega Research Laboratory, Adamsville, MA. From 19681972. Involved in a military contract financed by the Department of Defense and the US Air Force. The project was classified Top Secret and went under the code name of Black Flag." Some contract numbers were listed. "The project was intended to develop a viral compound that could be passed through the food chain or water supply and would result in the sterilization of human males." He handed it back to Waite. Terry gave them a vacant look. |
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"Given the dates," Waite said, "it could only mean they had targeted future generations of Viet Cong. In other words, biochemical genocide. Evidently they scrapped the project in '72. And according to Jane, BiOmega was dissolved even before the war ended, maybe because it was winding down. Or maybe because it wasn't working right." |
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"It worked." Terry's voice was barely audible. |
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Waite thought he understood what she meant, but realized that was beyond anything he could say or do. He turned back to Calvin. "What's critical now is that the stuff's still in the water and has to be dealt with. What's certain is that nobody can get at the well until the |
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