CHAPTER 10
Charlie
The dogs ran around in an endless display of bliss as Gavin and I arrived back at his home. After they’d assured themselves that we weren’t leaving again, they ran outside willingly, ready to play.
“I should check the net again,” Gavin said calmly.
Personally, I was still freaked out over whether or not my boss had put the hit on me back up again.
I followed him to his office, and sat down on a small sofa to wait for him to investigate.
My body was tense as his fingers flew over his keyboard. And yet, despite it all, I couldn’t help but admire Gavin, loving the intense concentration on his face as he looked for answers.
Gavin was absolutely brilliant. To have risen to the position he was in with his life right now, he had to be. The fact that he looked hotter than Hades when he was hell bent on doing something made him all the more attractive.
What would it be like to have that laser-sharp focus all on me?
Did Gavin even give his women the same attention that he gave his work?
If he was anything like me, he didn’t, since I hadn’t paid any guy any attention in ages.
Except when it came to Gavin. I’d happily focus on him.
“I’m surprised it’s not back up, but I don’t see it,” Gavin observed.
“Thank God.” My body shivered in relief.
“It could be that he already found his man,” he explained. “I don’t want to scare you by saying that, Charlie. I just don’t want to give you a false sense of security. What the assholes are doing is extremely profitable, and they are playing for high stakes. This isn’t just going to go away.”
“I think I know that now,” I acknowledged.
I might be naïve, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew well enough the sort of prices our enemies would pay to have a biological weapon. When that large a sum of money was on the line, they wouldn’t think twice about murdering someone standing in their way.
“You have to be careful,” Gavin said in a concerned voice.
I sighed. “All of this over biological weapons. Why? That’s one thing I just can’t understand. As scientists, we work to find cures, so we can make the world a better place. Yes, we need to study dangerous diseases, but what American would sell out their country for money?”
“It’s a lot of money,” he said cynically. “Some people would sell their own family or they’re fucking soul for that matter.”
“I wouldn’t,” I answered. “We’ve seen pandemics, and studied the history of severe outbreaks. The Black Plague wiped out millions—half of the population of Europe. Even if somebody had money, what kind of world would they have to live in?”
Gavin shrugged. “Even knowing that, some people don’t care. Money is king.”
“Is that how you feel?” I asked curiously, pretty sure I knew the answer.
“Hell, no. Getting rich was never my objective, even if it was pretty important to my partner, Kane. But it wasn’t just the money for him, either. He had something to prove. Maybe we both did.”
“I’d hate to see a world where we couldn’t contain another pandemic of epic proportions. Science has come way too far for that to happen. That’s why we study. We’re supposed to be looking for a cure, not killing people.”
“I think almost every form of work can be studied for bad things,” Gavin observed.
He was probably right. Even in the computer world, skills could be easily used for financial gain.
“We really need to end this, Gavin. We have to find a way to take these people down. The consequences of not getting biological weapons out of enemy hands could be catastrophic.”
“I know,” he replied. “We’ll do everything we can. I’ll use all the connections I’ve gotten over the years.”
“What can I do?”
Before he could answer, a buzzing sound filled the room.
“Shit! Someone’s at my gate, and I don’t normally get visitors, especially when my partner is away, and I sent my sister and brother a note that I’d be out of town just so they didn’t drop over.” Instead of heading to answer the door, he tapped away on his keyboard, and just a moment later, he had the live feed from his front gate security camera up on his screen. “What the hell is he doing here? It’s my contact at the FBI.”
He tapped away again, remotely opening the gate, and then waiting to make sure the place was secure once again as the gate shut behind the agent. Gavin got to his feet, and grabbed my hand, leading the way to the front door, pulling it open and stepping aside so the agent could enter. “Lou… what the hell’s going on? I hadn’t expected you to come knocking,” he said roughly. “This is Charlie. Charlie, this is special agent Louis Green.”
“Our scientist.” The FBI agent was a kind-looking African-American gentleman in his mid-fifties, who gave me a kind smile, and held out his hand. “Call me Louis or Lou.”
I shook his hand, wondering why he was here. “If you’re trying to help me, thank you,” I rushed to tell him.
“You have my word, I’m doing all I can to put an end to the threat you’re dealing with.” Lou shifted his attention between me and Gavin. “Have you seen the news?”
“No. I’ve been too busy keeping Charlie safe,” Gavin answered. “What’s going on?”
“This is an ugly situation, and it just keeps getting worse,” Louis told me.
“What did you find out?” Gavin asked.
“We’ve got trouble,” the agent answered in a serious tone. “We aren’t certain where this ends, yet, but we know it wasn’t just some project being worked on by the lab supervisor.”
“How do you know that?” I asked anxiously.
“Is your boss’s name Doug Whitman?” Agent Green asked stoically.
“Yes. Dr. Whitman. He’s been my superior as long as I’ve been at the lab,” I confirmed.
“Was he supposed to be working today?” Louis asked.
“No. We run a really small crew on the weekends. No one in management comes in,” I explained. I didn’t even work weekends. It was a time when most of the mundane catchup was done by lab techs.
“He was there today,” Louis commented. “Apparently he got there very early.”
“Are you watching him? How did you know?” I was wondering why in the hell my boss was working in the early morning hours on a Sunday. That just never happened.
“Because the first one to come into the lab this morning found his body in his office. He was shot with a double-tap to the head. Dr. Whitman is dead.”