“That your Chevy pickup?”
Ben blinked. ……. no. Not mine.”
“Got a taillight busted out,” the deputy said, taking off his
sunglasses, revealing eyes free of suspicion.
“We’re driving that Ford,” Ben said.
“You know who owns the truck?”
“N,pe. Probably one of the other customers in there.
“Well, you folks have a nice day, enjoy our beautiful mountains,” the
deputy said, moving past them and into the sportinggoods store.
Ben tried not to run straight to the car, and he sensed that Rachael was
resisting a similar urge. Their measured stroll was almost too
nonchalant.
The eerie stillness, so complete when they had arrived, was gone, and
the day was full of movement. Out on the water, an outboard motor
buzzed like a swarm of hornets. A breeze had sprung up, coming in off
the blue lake, rustling the trees, stirring the grass and weeds and
wildflowers. A few cars passed on the state route, rock and roll
blaring through the open windows of one of them.
They reached the rental Ford in the cool shadows of the pines.
Rachael pulled her door shut, winced at the loud chunk it made, as if
the sound would draw the deputy back. Her green eyes were wide with
apprehension. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You got it,” he said, starting the engine.
“We can find another place, more private, where you can unpack the
shotgun and load it.”
They pulled out onto the two-lane blacktop that encircled the lake,
heading north. Ben kept checking the rearview mirror. No one was
following them, his fear that their pursuers were right on their tail
was irrational, paranoid. He kept checking the mirror anyway.
The lake lay on their left and below them, glimmering, and the mountains
rose on their right. In some areas, houses stood on large plots of
forested land, Some were magnificent, almost country-style mansions, and
others were neatly kept but humble summer cottages.
In other places, the land was either government-owned or too steep to
provide building sites, and the wilderness encroached in a weedy and
brambled tangle of trees. A lot of dry brush had built up, too, and
signs warned of the fire danger, an annual summer-autumn threat
throughout southern California. The road snaked and rolled, climbed and
fell, through alternating patches of shade and golden sunlight.
After a couple of minutes, Rachael said, “They can’t really believe we
stole defense secrets.”
“No,” Ben agreed.
“I mean, I didn’t even know Geneplan had defense contracts.”
“That’s not what they’re worried about. It’s a’cover story.”
“Then why are they so eager to get their hands on us?”
“Because we know that Eric has… come back.”
“And you think the government knows, too?” she asked.
“You said the Wildcard project was a closely held secret. The only
people who knew were Eric, his partners in Geneplan, and you.”
“That’s right.”
“But if Geneplan had its hand in the Pentagon’s pocket on other
projects, then you can bet the Pentagon knew everything worth knowing
about the owners of Geneplan and what they were up to. You can’t accept
lucrative top-secret research work and at the same time hold on to your
privacy.”
“That makes sense,” she said. “But Eric might not have realized it.
Eric believed he could have the best of everyone, all the time.”
A road sign warned of a dip in the pavement. Ben braked, and the Ford
jolted over a rough patch, springs squeaking, frame rattling.
When they came through to smoother blacktop, he said, “So the Pentagon
knew enough about Wildcard to realize what Eric had done to himself when
his body disappeared from the morgue. And now they want to contain the
story, keep the secret’ because they see it as a weapon or, at least, as
a source of tremendous power.
“Power?”
“If perfected, the Wildeard process might mean immortality to those who
undergo treatment. So the people who control Wildcard will decide who
lives forever and who doesn’L Can you imagine any better weapon, any
better tool with which to establish political control of the whole damn
world?”
Rachael was silent awhile. Then she said softly, “Jesus, I’ve been so
focused on the personal aspects of this, so intent on what it means to