Brain Worms Page 4

  Chapter 5

  Harry arrived at the SeaTac airport about an hour before his flight departure. Using one of the electronic check-in kiosks, Harry punched in the reservation code Theodore had given him. Taking the ticket the machine spit out, he proceeded to the security line check-in. The agent checking IDs and tickets looked briefly at Harry’s modified ID and ticket. Harry was practicing the anxiety control methods he had learned long ago. The agent commented, “I bet it’s already cold up there in Nome.”

  Harry smiled, as he took the ticket and ID that was offered to him saying, “It’s always cold up there.” Taking off his shoes, Harry hoped the blood wasn’t too visible on his socks. He walked through the metal detector and was relieved when the metal detector remained silent and he wasn’t frisked. He worked hard to maintain the look of bored innocence and controlled his grimacing as he put his shoes back on his sore feet. It was only as he was walking towards his gate did he look again at his ticket. He had assumed Theodore lived in the Anchorage area. What was he doing in Nome? He wasn’t real certain where Nome was, but remembered it was the closest American town to Russia. It would be like Theodore to live on the edge. Harry thought about calling Laura but decided not to draw any more attention to her than needed.

  He sat in the corner of the waiting area and nonchalantly surveyed all those who entered the area. The boarding process began and Harry checked his seat assignment. His seat was toward the back and was a middle seat. He didn’t fit well in even the larger first-class seats; it was going to be a long ride. Harry waited until almost everyone had boarded, then made his way to the final check-in. He handed his ticket to the agent and had to groan when she said, “Would you step over there, sir, for a random screening?” Harry did as he was told and produced his ID for the security agent. This agent looked much closer at the ID, but still missed Harry’s impromptu change. He again took his shoes off and stood with his arms outstretched as the agent used his wand to check for metal. This was followed by a manual pat down. Harry’s shoes were swiped and checked for explosives. Harry glanced at his feet. The old dry blood from his blisters was obvious to him, but the agent didn’t seem to notice.

  The boarding process was complete except for Harry. The agent seemed to take forever doing the explosive test and Harry worried that some of the explosive from his car’s destruction had contaminated his feet. He tried to suppress his relief when the agent told them it was okay to put his shoes on and board the airplane. Harry quickly tied his shoes and entered the walkway to the airplane. He wished he had packed a bag of something so that he had luggage to check. They may not be profiling, but they were certainly careful with those without luggage.

  Harry ducked his head to enter the airplane and stayed stooped over as he worked his way to the back of airplane. The airplane was almost full. Only a few center seats were available. His seat was between a burly man almost as wide as he was and a young mother with an infant on her lap.

  When Harry finally got off the airplane in Anchorage, he didn’t notice the pain in his feet because he was so stiff and sore from the cramped seating. He stretched and walked for most of the hour he had, before boarding the airplane to Nome. He was surprised when they entered the airplane from the rear. All of the freight was loaded forward and the passengers sat in the rear with a bulkhead separating them from the freight containers. At least this flight was somewhat less full so Harry had a little room to stretch out. The dozen or so passengers all looked like they belonged on the flight, except for Harry. His lightweight jacket and running shoes were definitely out of place amongst the parkas and boots. Harry finally got a little sleep. However, images of Angie being tortured kept entering his thoughts and dreams.

  When Harry deplaned in Nome, he had to walk across the cold tamarack to the terminal building. Once inside, he nonchalantly scanned the small building looking for possible threats. Theodore wasn’t to be seen, so Harry took a seat along the outside wall and waited. He pretended to read a newspaper while he watched. Almost everyone from the flight had already departed when a nondescript man who had been sitting on the far end of the small terminal rose and walked over to him. Harry had to smile because his friend had escaped even his notice. Theodore still had his ability to remain invisible. The old friends were reunited with a simple handshake.

  Harry followed Theodore out of the building to a beat up looking pickup truck. Once in the truck Theodore said, “It would appear you need some clothing. Not many people up here are your size, though. We’ll stop at the Trading Post and see what they have.”

  They rode in silence for the short trip in to town from the airport. They stopped in front of one of the touristy places on Front Street. There was a little snow, but the covered boardwalk was clear. The store was filled with overpriced souvenir clothing and trinkets. They did have a rack of fur-lined parkas, one of which almost fit Harry. They did a little better on the boots only because they were so oversized to allow for thick felt liners. The only pants they could find were some XXL commercial fishing rain pants. Theodore found a pair of chopper mitts that covered Harry’s huge hands and his ensemble was complete. A bit unusual, but complete. Theodore paid for the supplies and they headed out of town. Once they were south of town, Theodore relaxed and began talking. He explained how his beat up old truck was actually a high-performance ATV hidden under an old truck body so it would appear natural in Nome. Harry finally interrupted to ask how Theodore had ended up in Nome.

  “When our outfit was dissolved, they offered me an intelligence position. I accepted with the provision that I could live where I wanted. We bargained a bit about security and then I chose the most distant place from Washington D.C. I could find. Hence, Nome. Been here ever since and have no intention of leaving.”

  The discussion turned to the present crisis. Theodore said, “Seems the FBI is now looking for you. Apparently some size 14 footprints were found outside your in-laws house. Somehow they found out you wore size 14.”

  Harry was thoughtful for a minute before responding, “I was wondering what happened to my hiking boots. They were missing when I returned to my house. Whoever is behind this plans well.”

  They continued down the Sound, paralleling the beach until Harry finally asked, “How far out of town do you live?”

  “I live in the center of town. Just not this town. I found this great place in an old mining town called Council. It’s pretty much a ghost town, but meets my needs perfectly. I share the town with an old miner and a couple Native families. The isolation gives me the security I need.”

  They drove past an abandoned collection of old railroad cars. Before Harry could ask, Theodore explained, “The world’s shortest railroad. It was some kind of financial scam back when the gold mines were booming. They laid just enough track to get the railcars unloaded from the barge and then abandoned the project. The investors took it in the shorts.”

  Harry could see the cloud bank approaching from the south and mentioned the change in weather. Theodore said, “The first major snowstorm is headed our way. Winter comes early up here. It should blow through in 24 hours and we can get you back on your way.”

  Harry was wondering if coming all the way to the ends of the country made any sense. Maybe he should have gone to the police. It had been almost 18 hours since he saw the e-mail. Twenty-four hours more before he could leave. Angie had to be horribly worried. Those causing this crisis seemed to be pretty ruthless. Lots of things could go wrong in 48 hours. If his enemies were religious fanatics, would they torture women? His thoughts mingled with the view of a low mountain range ahead. The slopes still held a reddish color from the blueberry and cranberry bushes. He had not seen a single tree since arriving. Angie would like the colors.

  Harry could really sense the power of the truck as they started the uphill climb. Leave it to Theodore to have the highest tech stuff and still stay almost invisible. The vista from the top wa
s awesome, and Harry’s troubles and anxieties receded somewhat. Theodore pointed to a large stone and said, “I have a magnetometer hidden in that stone. It alerts me to any traffic on the road.”

  Harry watched his friend fiddle with an electronic device. He knew better than to ask for an explanation which would have been far more technical than he had any hope of comprehending. Afterward, Theodore relaxed noticeably and said, “Not been any traffic. I don’t feel secure until I know nobody has been bothering anything. Fishing season is a bit of a hassle because of the occasional fishermen making his way down to the Fish River.”

  They had another hour of driving during which Theodore discussed his findings. There had been a significant increase in intercepted traffic regarding a religious event amongst suspected terrorist sympathizers. He had no way of knowing whether Harry’s troubles were connected, but the Middle East background suggested a link. There were no leads on Harry’s wife, and the kidnapping was not announced until this morning. No motive or demands had been made except for the e-mail Harry had received.

  As they descended into the river valley, Harry realized there were trees. Short stunted trees, but real trees nonetheless. Theodore explained how the lower elevation and protection from the storms allowed the permafrost to melt enough for trees to take hold. The town wasn’t much, several buildings grouped together. They turned into a shed facing away from the prevailing wind. The adjacent house looked like a heavy snow would be enough to collapse it. Theodore held open the door and Harry entered a very modern looking kitchen. The house had obviously been rebuilt from the inside out leaving the dilapidated exterior as a camouflage. The inside was warm and well lighted but the decorations were almost nonexistent. Harry asked about the source of electricity and Theodore went on a long, complicated exposition about his multiple energy sources with multiple redundancies.

  Harry finally interrupted him to ask if they had received any information from Laura. Theodore glanced at his computer screen and saw the indicator flashing. He sat down and looked into a small camera device. The screen became active, then displayed, “Retinal scan complete and verified.” Theodore began typing and soon a message from Laura and Andrew appeared. Harry was relieved to know Laura was doing OK and under Andrew’s protection. The destruction of the lab reinforced his opinion about the brain worm’s importance. Why someone would insert human genes into a parasite remained incomprehensible. Theodore began manipulating the data file they had received and isolated the DNA sections that appeared to have been inserted into the genome. He used a secondary program to begin cross-referencing the data. Laura had already referenced the sequences to the known genetic codes. Theodore was referencing them to published data worldwide. If they were important, someone would have written about them.

  Harry watched Theodore work and realized there was not actually a computer in the room. He interrupted Theodore to ask where the computer was and was told to be patient. After several moments of programming Theodore got up and said, “I’ll show you now.”

  Theodore opened the closet and punched in a code on the keypad. The back wall of the closet slid open and a stairway descending into darkness was visible. As Theodore stepped forward, the lights came on. As they climbed down the stairway, Theodore explained how the house was built on top of a mineshaft. The mineshaft opened up into a fairly large room which had been lined with insulating materials and support structures. There was high-tech equipment everywhere. Theodore explained in great detail how he had built his own mini supercomputer using hundreds of parallel processors. Harry realized that this was indeed Nirvana for Theodore. No distractions -just his equipment. Harry was still puzzled about how he could connect to the Internet. After Theodore began explaining how he used the cover of the water tank as a specialized satellite dish to connect with the military intelligence satellite system, Harry realized he should not have asked. After listening to several minutes of discourse regarding frequency shifts, digital filtering techniques and encryption, Harry finally held up his hands and said, “I believe you.”

  They returned to Theodore’s study where results were scrolling across the screen. Theodore watched the screen for several minutes before saying, “This is going to take awhile. Why don’t you sack out for a bit. Bedroom is past the head on the left.”

  Harry thought it was a good idea. With a simple “OK” he started for the bedroom. He turned and asked Theodore, “Okay if I take a quick shower?”

  “Good idea. Clean towels in the cabinet on the left.”

  The shower felt wonderful, but cleaning his feet created some fresh bleeding. He took the time to put a few Band-Aids on the worst areas. Harry washed his socks out the best he could and draped them across the heating register. He crawled under Theodore’s heavy quilt. The next thing he knew Theodore was waking him up saying, “Harry, you had better get up.”

  “What time is it?”

  “About 2200. Somebody is headed our way.”

  Harry was up and pulling on his clothes immediately. It took him a minute to remember where he had left his socks because his mind was already in the planning state. He asked Theodore, “What do you have for armament?”

  “Small arms only. They wouldn’t let me have any of the heavier stuff.”

  “How long before they get here?”

  “They were going pretty slow past my magnetometer. The snow must have slowed them way down. We should have 30 minutes anyway.”

  Harry asked, “Any way to warn your neighbors?”

  “Already have.”

  Harry began looking through the small stock of weapons in Theodore’s closet. He chose a 9 mm Lugar and a somewhat modified M14 automatic rifle. Both weapons were meticulously clean and ready. Theodore was dressing in his outdoor clothes and Harry followed suit. Theodore said, “I would like to keep them away from my house, but we need to make sure their visit isn’t benign. I’ll situate myself below the hill and take out one of their tires using the silencer. If they act innocent, I’ll make my way back to the house and wait for them to arrive. We can fix the tire later and pretend innocence.”

  “Where do you want me?”

  “If they mean us harm, they’ll probably move to the south and enter the cluster of houses in the center. I would like you positioned between here and the cluster of old buildings.” Theodore handed him a miniature headset and night vision goggles. “The night vision goggles won’t work too well because of the snow, but they’re better than nothing. The headset is digitally encrypted.”

  They finished dressing. Before leaving the building, Theodore secured his computer and turned off all visible lights. When they exited the door, Theodore not only locked it, but activated some other mechanism. Harry did not even ask what it was, but believed Theodore when he was told, “Don’t try to open the door unless I’ve disarmed it first.”

  The world was a swirling mix of gray. Without any city lights and the clouds overhead, the darkness was surprisingly complete. The heavy snow just added to the opacity. The night vision goggles worked only at close range. Harry moved off in the direction Theodore had indicated, but had traveled only a few feet before he had to turn and orient himself. Even with the night vision goggles the other houses were invisible. His headset became active and Theodore said, “You need to move another hundred yards south. I will have the headset produce a tone when you’re moving south. The built-in GPS is pretty accurate and I can know your position within a few feet.”

  Harry began moving again and the tone in his ear became constant as he headed south. When he had traveled what he felt was 100 yards he heard Theodore say, “There is an old piece of equipment just to your left. Not much shelter, but a good vantage point.”

  Harry positioned himself as directed and surveyed the surrounding area. He could barely make out the old houses ahead of him. The ground was flat and open between his position and the houses. He waited. His feet no longer hurt because the cold
was already penetrating his boots. He wished they had found a pair big enough to have left the liners in. He wanted to stomp his feet to warm them. Instead, he concentrated on a slow steady scan of the area in front of him. Surely 30 minutes had already passed. He continued his scan of the area and thought he saw some movement at the edge of his visual field. He stared back towards the left and waited. There was definitely movement. He wasn’t sure if it was a man or dog, but something was moving towards him. Harry whispered into his headset, “Movement headed my way.”

  “They must have left the vehicle before the hill. I’m going to circle around. Take out your target quietly if possible.”

  Harry watched the movement come gradually closer. It was definitely a man crouched low and moving with stealth. Harry eased himself further behind one of the support columns and waited. His target was now clearly visible as a man who had been trained in carrying a weapon. Time seemed to stand still. Harry’s feet no longer bothered him. Harry had removed his heavy mittens and held his rifle at the ready. His target instinctively moved towards the structure for cover. Harry waited until the man was opposite his hiding site and stepped out behind him. Harry swiveled the rifle around and used the butt to strike a snap hit to the man’s skull where it connected to his neck. The man dropped instantly and silently.

  Harry felt the man’s neck. His pulse remained stable. He pulled the laces out of the intruder’s boots and used them to secure his hands and feet. He then called Theodore on his headset. “Target neutralized.”

  Theodore was breathing hard when he answered, “Infrared suggest three individuals. Tracks separate. One set is headed toward the Native families. Keep moving south and see if you can intercept. I’ll follow the third set.”

  Harry tried to orient himself visually, but the heavy snowfall obliterated everything. He followed the GPS tone in his headset and moved south. He again was like a big cat on the hunt. His first target had no night vision goggles. Hopefully his next target was also limited. The houses were much closer now and he could see the heat signatures of the two occupied houses without difficulty. A slight glow was visible in the snow and Harry recognized the recent footprints. Like a cougar tracking a deer, Harry followed his quarry. The tracks rounded the corner of the house and Harry deflected his course to the side for a better approach. On the far side, he saw someone peering into a window.

  A muffled rifle shot sounded out, and his target turned suddenly when the lights came on in the house. The light almost blinded Harry and he had to push off his night vision goggles. The movement attracted his target’s attention. Harry saw the rifle pointed toward him. Without waiting, Harry fired his.

  The door opened and Harry found himself looking into two hunting rifles. A fairly small man and woman were holding the guns on Harry. They looked very confident in their use. Harry raised his arms. The man asked, “You Theodore's friend?"

  "I'm Harry, Theodore's friend."

  The man glanced at the fallen attacker and recognized death before asking, "Who was this man?"

  "Someone sent to harm Theodore and myself. There is still one other in town."

  "How can we help?"

  Harry did not feel he could risk the lives of these innocent friends. He said, "Stay secure in your house. I'll try and find Theodore."

  Before the conversation could continue, a stranger appeared from the dark holding a gun against Theodore's head. He said in accented English, "Drop your guns or your friend dies."

  Harry thought about trying to take out the attacker, but he seemed too competent. Theodore would almost certainly not survive the attempt. Harry lowered his gun and set it on the freshly fallen snow. Theodore's friends followed Harry's lead. The attacker spoke Arabic into a handheld radio and another stranger stepped forward. The second man said in better English, "You would be Dr. Harry Williams. You are a difficult man to contain. You are to return with us or be eliminated. If you choose to cooperate, your wife will be safe."

  "What do you want of me?"

  "Your cooperation and the computer files which were transmitted to you."

  "How do I know my wife is safe?"

  "We are sacred warriors and we speak in the name of our God. It is as I say."

  Theodore spoke up and asked, "You speak for Dr. Ahmad then?"

  The two attackers spoke to each other in Arabic and Harry looked at his friend who had obviously pushed a significant button. Theodore was up to something, but he didn't have the foggiest idea what. After the Arabic discussion became less heated, the man with better English said, "It would seem the damage has been worse than expected and both of you will return with us. You will give us access to your computer."

  Theodore asked, "If I refuse?"

  "Then everyone and everything here will be destroyed."

  Theodore responded, "At my house."

  "Take us there now."

  Theodore led them back towards his house. As they passed by the machinery Harry had used as cover, they stumbled over the still unconscious attacker Harry had neutralized. The attacker with the good English bent over the man and felt for a pulse. He told Harry, "Bring my companion."

  Harry picked up the attacker and carried him over his shoulder. They approached the decrepit looking house and the junior attacker tried the door which was locked. Theodore was told to unlock the door and then step back. He did is he was told and as the attacker opened the door, Theodore covered his face. A blast of pepper spray greeted them. The intruder screamed. Harry turned toward the other attacker who had already crouched into an attack position, "Nobody move or you will all die! What happened?"

  Theodore responded, "He didn't let me disarm the bear repellent. It's just pepper spray."

  "What bear repellent?"

  "I've been having trouble with a grizzly bear bothering my place, so I set up the spray to keep the bears away."

  "You really have bears?"

  "It's been a big problem lately."

  The attacker's anxiety increased significantly. Not only did he have his four prisoners to worry about, he also had bears to worry about. Four trained men were sent to capture one man. Now he was facing four prisoners in a snowstorm with one sacred soldier dead and two disabled. Better to even the odds and reduce the number of prisoners. He decided to take out everyone but Harry. Moving to the edge of the small porch, he ordered the three to stand aside. He had no sooner given the order when he heard a noise behind him. He turned only slightly, but it was enough of a distraction so he didn't see Sven. Sven stepped around the corner and struck the attacker with a crowbar across the skull. The crowbar was more than effective and the attacker crumpled to the ground.

  Theodore and Harry quickly finished subduing the attacker who was suffering from the pepper spray. Theodore said, "Sven, I owe you one. Sure glad you left your mine and lent a hand."

  "Heard the shots. Figured claim jumpers. Best be getting back to work."

  Sven disappeared and Harry said, "Doesn't say much, does he?"

  Theodore replied, "Most he's said in the past six months. Sven pretty much keeps to himself. Let's get inside."

  It wasn't until Harry began warming that he realized how cold his feet were. He removed the boots and began massaging his feet. Theodore was talking to the Eskimo man about the possible location of a car. After a few minutes discussion, Theodore gave him a headset with the built-in GPS unit and sent him to look for the vehicle. Theodore secured the door behind him. Harry turned his attention to the injured attackers. The man with the pepper spray was pretty miserable, but would recover fully. The attacker he had knocked unconscious seemed to be recovering slowly. The crowbar, however, had been a bit too effective. As he ran his fingers along the skull, he noted an evident depression. Both pupils were equal and responded to light, but he was worried about possible brain injury.

  Harry said, "This one is going to need medical attention."

  Theodore responded, "No
t much hope for that until the storm lets up. Supposed to clear a bit in about 12 hours."

  The Eskimo woman, Mary, walked out of the kitchen with a pot of tea. "Enough excitement already. Time for some tea."

  Harry accepted the tea and watched Theodore work at his computer console. He interrupted enough to ask, "What was your comment about a Doctor Ahmad?"

  “He’s a Ph.D. type who was recently put on the watch list by Homeland Security. Seems he attends one of the mosques where the religious teacher’s viewpoint is suspect. His research involves neurotransmitters in parasites. I’m doing a further search now.”

  Harry accepted the limited explanation and went to check on their attackers who were now prisoners. The one he had taken out was starting to regain consciousness and would recover. The guy who spoke good English wasn’t doing as well. His left pupil seemed to be getting sluggish. He needed a CAT scan. But they were almost 500 miles from the nearest unit and stuck in a snowstorm. He interrupted Theodore again by asking if he had any steroids.

  “I don’t, but I bet Mary does. She’s the village health aide.”

  Mary walked out of the kitchen when she heard her name. Harry asked her about steroids and she said, “I have Prednisone and Decadron.”

  Harry said, “Decadron would be better. Is it injectable?”

  "The prednisone is injectable for bee stings, but I only have Decadron pills."

  Harry considered how he would get the Decadron into his enemy who was now his patient and decided the prednisone injectable would have to do. He asked her to get the medicine, but Theodore objected. "Until we're sure there's no more of them around, you'll have to wait."

  Harry the physician wanted to argue, even though Harry the warrior knew Theodore was correct. The physician would have to wait. He spent his time fussing over his patient. The pupil seemed to be getting even more sluggish. His reflexes were still intact otherwise. There was no excessive bulging of the skull at the point of contact with the crowbar, and he was worried about a countercoup injury. When Mary asked why he kept checking the man’s eyes, Harry explained, "When the head is struck, the brain bounces around inside the skull. Many times it is the bounce back from the opposite side that causes the blood vessels connecting the skull and the brain to tear. Blood then builds up in the space between the brain and the skull, which then pushes the brainstem down and compresses the nerves. If the pressure gets too high, the brainstem will herniate out of the skull base, and the compression leads to death."

  Mary asked how they could treat the pressure. Harry explained how steroids reduce the swelling of the brain, which, in turn, relieves some of the pressure. This bought the patient some time. Removing the blood was the definitive therapy, though. Harry rechecked the pupils and the right one was beginning to dilate. He needed to do something. Where was Mary's husband? He couldn't just sit around much longer. Mary sensed his impatience and asked, "How could we remove the blood?"

  Harry responded, "He needs a CAT scan to identify the site of bleeding. Then he needs to go to surgery for burr holes to drain the blood."

  Quietly, Mary said, "Have they not shown skulls of other Native Americans who had these burr holes performed in ancient times? They had no CAT scans."

  Harry's first impulse was a flash of anger because he was being compared to some ancient witch doctor. He was then quite humbled by the simple reprimand. Very gently he said, "You're right. We should be able to do the burr holes here."