“And when I trust you, I’ll tell you why I think they left me alive.”
Peyton placed the guns on the kitchen table. “Let’s start trusting each other right now. We don’t have time to waste.” She coughed, then inhaled deeply.
She’s getting sicker, Desmond thought.
William studied her, seemed to realize it too. “Yes. Time is certainly of the essence.”
Peyton motioned to the letter. “Let’s start over. Dad, you wrote this letter to Desmond. Why?”
“Three weeks ago he contacted me online. I had developed a number of websites and identities related to the Citium and former projects. They were like breadcrumbs back to me in case someone ever surfaced. I expected maybe a scientist from before the purge.” William motioned to Desmond. “Somehow, he found me. He said the Looking Glass was nearing completion. That he had been lied to, that what they were planning was very different from what he was promised.”
He faced Desmond. “You told me you were going to stop them. Expose them. You wanted to meet. I refused. I told you to go public first. I didn’t trust you. Again, I thought it might be an attempt to draw me out, eliminate me before the Looking Glass went live. I gave you the coordinates in the forest.”
“Where we found the metal box.”
“Correct. There were a hundred pounds of C4 under it. I would’ve blown you to tiny little bits if Peyton hadn’t been with you.”
Desmond looked over at her. “Well, thanks for that.”
“I assumed you’d brought her along as leverage. But I needed to know for sure.”
“You let us read your story to see my reaction.”
“Yes.” William walked closer to Peyton. “And to explain. I wrote most of it long ago, for you, Peyton, and for your sister. I wanted you to know what really happened. I thought about sending it to you a million times, but the risk was just too great. I decided it would be better for you to live not knowing, than to die for my peace of mind.”
“Dad…” She began crying again, and William hugged her, held her tight.
Desmond nodded. It made sense. In fact, a lot of pieces were starting to fall into place.
William released Peyton and focused on Desmond. “What happened after you contacted me?”
Desmond sensed that the man was still testing him, trying to decide whether to believe him. He began telling his story, starting with waking up in the Concord Hotel a week ago.
“The message said, Warn Her, with Peyton’s phone number.”
“Warn her of what?” William asked.
“I think I just figured that out.” But before explaining, Desmond wanted to get all the facts out there. He described his meeting with the journalist, being captured, and his time in confinement on the Kentaro Maru. He quickly summarized their escape with Avery, rescuing Hannah, and the Labyrinth Reality app, which he had re-downloaded in Dadaab.
“Before, in Berlin, the app didn’t provide any entrances—no locations. But in Dadaab, it provided us with the coordinates you had given me.”
“Interesting,” William said.
“I must have programmed the app to release the location as a backup plan—probably after a set amount of time if I hadn’t taken control of the situation. Coming here and joining forces with you would have been my avenue of last resort.”
“Very clever.”
“What about the second location—your childhood home?” Peyton asked. “It popped up after we reached the box in the woods.”
“I believe that was a secondary backup plan,” Desmond said, “in case this didn’t pan out. Maybe I figured William might not show, or wouldn’t be helpful.”
“That was prudent.” William motioned toward Peyton. “Let’s go back to the message. Warn Her. Of what?”
“I believe I was supposed to warn her that she was in danger of being kidnapped, which is exactly what happened in Kenya. I think they wanted her to see the outbreak first, but mostly they wanted to take her so they could use her as a tool to get to you. For just the reason you stated: leverage. If you’re right, and you hold the key to stopping them, Peyton becomes the key to stopping you—and thus ensuring their success.”
Just then, Desmond wondered exactly how far the Citium would go to get to William. Would they have deliberately let himself and Peyton go, so they would lead the Citium to William? Had the escape been a ruse?
He checked his radio. Avery should have checked in by now. Something was wrong.
Desmond stood, but he was too late. The door was already open. The rifle that breached the threshold pointed at him first, then moved to Peyton and William.
Chapter 84
Avery didn’t take her eyes off William. She pointed the rifle at the center of his chest. Her voice was commanding, devoid of emotion. “Step away from her.”
William held his hands up and slowly moved away from Peyton.
Desmond saw a man ready to give his life for his daughter’s without hesitation.
“He’s on our side, Avery.”
She sidestepped, moving between Desmond and William, as if ready to shoot either. She stole a glance at Desmond, then at the corkboards that were covered with articles, pictures, and names of Citium organizations and projects.
“What is this?”
“Thirty years of research,” Desmond said. “The key to stopping the Citium.”
“He’s my father,” Peyton said.
Avery cocked her head. “Okay… Didn’t see that coming.”
She lowered the rifle.
“How’d you find us?” Desmond asked.
“Tracking dot on your clothes.” Avery smiled. “Not my first rodeo.”
“Very clever.”
“I figured if you were in trouble you wouldn’t be able to radio me, and calling you would only reveal my presence.”
They told Avery what they had learned, and Avery quickly summarized her experience with Rubicon, for William’s benefit. He listened quietly, then asked her who ran the Rubicon program.
“I don’t know. I was recruited by a man named David Ward.”
“Are you in contact with him?”