Wired - Douglas E. Richards [79]
Desh nodded sympathetically and waited for her to continue, but her expression indicated she was emotionally spent and couldn’t bear to talk about her brother any further.
“So once you realized you were too late to save him,” said Desh solemnly, “you knew you had to vanish from the grid.”
She nodded.
“I am truly sorry,” he said softly.
Silence hung over them like a rain cloud for several long seconds.
“You killed Lusetti,” said Desh finally. “But this was clearly in self defense. If what you say is true than you really haven’t committed any crimes.”
She sighed. “If you don’t count illegal human experimentation and misappropriation of corporate resources.”
“I don’t,” said Desh without hesitation.
Kira tried to force a smile but couldn’t quite manage it. “Moriarty has been hunting me ever since. He was probably already wealthy and powerful when he got into the game, not to mention ruthless. But it wouldn’t take twenty-three hours of superhuman intelligence to create immense wealth and power. I started with very little and created a fortune in no time. Think about what he’s been able to do in the last several years.”
Desh did and it wasn’t a pretty picture. “Any ideas who he might be?”
“None,” she said, beginning to recover her emotional equilibrium. “Whoever it is will be very subtle about his wealth and power. You won’t find him on the cover of business magazines. The truly powerful don’t advertise, they just pull strings from off stage.”
Desh thought about this and decided she was almost certainly correct.
“Whoever he is, he didn’t waste any time framing me for the murders of Lusetti and my brother. But that wasn’t enough to suit him. He decided to pin the Ebola plot on me as well so he could galvanize the entire US military against me. I don’t know if he has any other plans with terrorists, but the evidence you’ve seen is due to his involvement, not mine.”
“What does he gain by working with terrorists?” asked Desh.
“I don’t know. But there has to be more to it than we’re seeing. Because I’m convinced he won’t be able to perfect a genetically engineered cold virus capable of delivering Ebola genes.”
“Why not?”
“Too complex a project.”
“Even with enhanced intelligence?”
“Yes. When my mind is transformed, I have thousands and thousands of hours of the study of molecular biology in my memory for my intellect to draw upon. He almost certainly doesn’t. Without this, no matter how great his intelligence, he doesn’t have the knowledge base to succeed.”
Desh frowned. The more he learned, the more confused he became. He decided to move on. “So why does he want you now? He already knows he can’t force the secret of longevity from you.”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “But he’s taking great pains to capture me alive, even knowing I’m his biggest threat and won’t rest until I’ve stopped him. It’s obvious he hasn’t given up on the fountain of youth.”
They sat in silence for several seconds. Finally, Desh glanced at his watch and sighed. “We’d better go,” he said. “We have a bus to catch.”
Desh paid for the sundaes and they cautiously returned to the main mall. He scanned their surroundings for several minutes but didn’t detect anything out of place.
Desh gave Kira a questioning look as they made their way across the mall. “So why me, Kira?” he asked simply.
She sighed. “I already told you. You’re a good man. And when the chips are down, you’ll do the right thing. You’re an expert at finding people. You have Special Forces training. You’re smart and well read. I’ve been trying to find Moriarty and stop him, but I’ve gotten nowhere.”
Kira reached out and placed her hand in front of Desh, signaling him to stop walking. When he did she looked deeply into his eyes and he sensed she was deciding if she wanted to say more. Finally she lowered her eyes. “And I was lonely,” she said softly. “I’ve been on the run for a very long time. Not trusting anyone. Suspicious of everything.” She paused. “But I can’t stop Moriarty alone. As I studied your history, I realized I needed the