A Heartbeat Away - Michael Palmer [101]
Twenty minutes later, the video conference was renewed.
“We’ve got her,” Allaire said. “She’s in the ICU. Subdural hematoma—that’s bleeding between the skull and the brain. I have people on the way over there now.”
“Surgery?”
“I don’t think yet. Some subdurals don’t ever require it. She’s in a good hospital for trauma, but I’ll get a neurosurgeon over there right away.”
“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate that. So, what’s going on there?”
“The situation is getting worse here by the minute,” Allaire said. “What have you got for us?”
“Unfortunately, I still have lots of questions and few answers. But we’re working around the clock.”
The high-definition video transmission put Allaire’s raddled appearance in sharp focus. Dark stubble on his characteristically clean-shaven face made his ashen complexion and gaunt expression all the more disconcerting. Griff’s own image, as it was shown to him in a small square at the screen’s top left corner, looked no less bleak than Allaire’s.
“What’s your status?” the president asked.
“As of this moment, Angie’s made more progress than I have—or you, for that matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“She figured out that Sylvia Chen might be in New York, and she was right. Only Genesis must have somehow picked up on where she was going. Don’t ask me how they knew. They seem to know everything. They sent a man after Angie and tried to kill her.”
“What about Chen? Did Angie actually find her?”
Griff nodded.
“I believe so, but she’s dead. I have no details yet as to how or when. The guy Genesis sent is dead, too. It seems as if Angie managed to take him down before she lost consciousness.”
“We need to ID that body ASAP.”
“I assume the New York police have it.”
“I’ll alert the FBI right away. It might be the break we’ve been looking for to figure out who’s behind all this. She was supposed to be there in Kansas, watching you. Why couldn’t you have let me get the FBI on this?”
Griff could feel himself beginning to boil.
“Dr. Allaire,” he said, with forced control, “Angela Fletcher risked her life for you and the others in the Capitol. She just accomplished in a couple of days what all those FBI agents couldn’t do in a year. Let’s leave it at that. I just want to make sure that she’s protected.”
Allaire calmed himself with a deep breath, but his eyes flashed.
“Of course,” he said.
“Remember what Genesis has accomplished so far. It’s like they’re everywhere.”
Allaire sighed audibly.
“The FBI will be at Ms. Fletcher’s hospital room within the hour.”
“And, I want—”
“Enough, Rhodes! How are you progressing with your work?”
Griff brushed a knot of matted hair from his forehead. He tensed as he readied himself to break the news.
“I’m afraid at this moment I’m not much closer to a solution than I was before my arrest. This virus is from hell. Maybe we should rename it Genesis because it’s always a step ahead of us.”
With Griff’s weak attempt at levity, Allaire snapped.
His pallid complexion turned crimson in a blink. His mouth contorted, teeth bared. Glaring at the camera, he snatched up a glass of water from the Hard Room’s conference table. Griff watched with growing astonishment as the man with his finger on the nuclear trigger cocked his arm back, and then sent the glass shattering against a wall.
“You cannot fail!” Allaire screamed, his face a foot from the camera. “Do you hear me, Rhodes? Do you frigging understand me. I can put you back in prison right now. Right goddamn now! I’ll get someone else down there. Someone who has a clue. Give me some promise, some positive results, or I’ll destroy you. Do you understand me?”
His body was shaking, his eyes wild with rage.
“Sir!” Griff pleaded. “Please! Calm down. You need to calm yourself.”
Gary Salitas stepped in front of the camera, and Griff watched him place his hands on Allaire’s shoulders. The president grabbed his defense secretary by one wrist and rotated it until the man cried out in pain and released his hold.
Bethany Townsend suddenly burst into view, followed by a pair of Secret Service agents. With