A Heartbeat Away - Michael Palmer [91]
“Given the situation, how could I not?” he asked. “It’s tantamount to murder either way. But I’d feel too great a responsibility not to do everything possible to save those people.”
“But at this point there are no guarantees.”
“That’s the problem. So we have to choose where to put our faith. Computers, or innocent animals.”
“I wish I could help with the decision,” Forbush said. “It would be easy if we had unlimited time. As it is, setting up another Hell’s Kitchen animal facility, even a partial one, will take at least three or four days.”
Griff’s insides were knotted. He still desperately wanted to rub at his eyes, and to have his thoughts focus. He stared at his gloved hands, his teeth clenched.
“Do you want me to get the chimpanzee order going?” Forbush asked.
“No,” Griff said with sudden, renewed determination. “I still believe my computer program is the fastest and most accurate way forward.”
“I believe you’re right.”
“So we work,” Griff said, “and we keep at it until we figure out why Orion’s not doing the job I’ve programmed it to do.”
CHAPTER 41
DAY 5
11:45 P.M. (EST)
Residents on the sixth floor of the Riverside Nursing Home eased open their doors and shuffled out into the dimly lit hallway. Their collective chatter began as a murmur, but soon escalated into loud, rapid-fire exchanges. More room doors opened in response to the heightening racket. More elderly men and women milled into the corridor. Some carried canes. Some made their way with walkers.
Angie, emotionally and physically spent, sank onto the freight elevator’s unsteady wood floor. Her head was beginning to throb—a pounding bass drum behind her eyes, monitoring each heartbeat. Chen Su braced herself against the car wall opposite her. The older woman’s expression was unrevealing. Her eyes seemed vacant. Angie wondered how far the terrible events of just minutes ago had already slipped from her consciousness.
Mei Wu came racing through the crowd. Two male orderlies followed her into the elevator, carrying flashlights, which they directed down into the shaft. They said something in Chinese, and Mei let out a gasp, which she quickly cut short, her hand over her mouth. The response to death at Riverside, Angie assumed, was seldom louder than a sheet drawn over a face.
“Are you okay?” Mei asked.
Angie managed a nod, although her vision was drifting in and out of focus.
“You’re covered with blood. Are you cut?”
“Just my nose. I think it’s broken.”
“Oh, my. I will check you over, but I think we should get an ambulance. You don’t look well.”
With the orderlies’ help, Angie rose unsteadily to her feet, and used their shoulders for balance.
“We’ve already called the police,” Mei said. “Do you think you can speak to them about what happened here?”
“I’ll try my best.… And Mei, I’ll also do my best to see to it there are no repercussions from that gap in your elevator. After all, it did save my life.”
Before tonight, Angie felt secrecy was her best hope for safety. But Genesis had found her despite all her precautions. She needed to speak with Griff and possibly with the president as well. Would it help in any way to keep Sylvia Chen’s murder a secret? If so, the FBI had to contact the NYPD quickly. Without any notes from the former head of the Veritas project, Angie’s mission to New York had been worse than a failure. How much should the police be told now?
Griff or Allaire would arrange a military escort for her back to Kalvesta. But first, she had to do something that she dreaded.
“Mei, I need a moment with Ms.… Mrs.…”
“Ms. Li? You need to speak to Ms. Li?”
“Yes. Can you join us? I may need you to interpret.”
“Ms. Li speaks perfect English.”
“I will still need you.”
Once back in room 603, blotting blood with a hand towel Mei had brought her, Angie closed the window. Then she took hold of the frail, veined hand of the woman known there as Ms. Li, and motioned her to sit next to her on the bed.
“Thank you for saving our lives,” Angie began, squinting against the now unremitting pounding behind her forehead. “That