He took the vial and waited fifteen minutes before running water over it, gradually increasing the internal temperature. Done, he retrieved a syringe and removed a tiny amount of blood from the vial. He injected the remaining rats with it and went to a refrigerator.
Before putting the vial inside, he shook it. He watched the blood film and settle, film and settle, thinking that this might just be the mutation of Hydra he’d been imagining in his daydreams, the one that struck quickly, the one that caused total devastation, the one that produced cells with nine heads.
One hour, forty-eight minutes, and sixteen seconds.
Castro glanced at the clock, did the math, and felt enough of a thrill to shiver.
Chapter 15
Friday, July 29, 2016
One Week Before the Olympic Games Open
IN THE HOURS before dawn, I slept fitfully, my mind spinning nightmares about the twins and the men who’d died trying to protect them. I jerked awake, breathing hard and in a cold sweat, around three in the morning.
“Shhh,” Tavia said, stroking my cheek in the darkness. “It was just another bad dream.”
“I need some good ones once in a while,” I said, calming down.
“Then dream of me,” Tavia said, and she laid her head on my chest.
Within minutes, her breathing slowed into a deep and gentle rhythm that calmed me even more. I smelled her hair, still damp from the shower, and drifted off into dreams of the moment I’d realized I could fall in love with her.
“Come on, Jack,” Tavia had said to me. “You can’t really appreciate Rio without seeing her from the sea.”
We were at the Botafogo marina, and Tavia was coaxing me into a motor launch she’d chartered after a long day of work after a long flight in from Los Angeles. We’d met formally only that morning.
I’d come to Rio to interview Tavia about opening and heading a Private office in the Marvelous City during the World Cup and Olympic Games. She’d been a dynamo from the get-go, and I knew within an hour of meeting her that I’d give her the job.
But Tavia had put together a crash course of all that was Rio so I’d understand the security challenges of the city before making my decision. We’d been to several possible venue sites prior to boarding the boat, and I was starting to get dizzy from jet lag.
I got in and we pulled away from the docks and motored around Sugarloaf Mountain, through the harbor mouth, and out to sea. We stopped about a mile off Copacabana Beach, where we had a panoramic view of the remarkable landscape and design of the south side of Rio, from Leblon to Sugarloaf and the jungle mountains soaring in and behind the ever-growing city.
“Just breathtaking,” I said.
Tavia laughed and threw her arms wide as if trying to embrace it all.
“I think God was in the mood to celebrate when Rio de Janeiro was made,” Tavia said, and she laughed again. “God made Rio so crazy beautiful that it’s impossible not to be happy here. I love it. I’ll never leave. If I die, bring me to this spot so my spirit can look at her, love her, and be a part of her that washes ashore.”
She’d smiled at me and then gazed all around in wonder, as if she were lost in paradise.
That was the moment when I felt I could get lost in Tavia. That was the moment that stirred and sweetened my dreams now and for the next couple of hours until the real Tavia kissed my lips and woke me up for good.
“Time is it?” I grumbled.
“Quarter of five,” she said, getting out of bed. “We want to be in Alem?o before everyone leaves for work.”
I groaned, rubbed my eyes, said, “I’ll phone room service for coffee.”
“I ordered it last night,” Tavia called from the bathroom. “Breakfast in fifteen minutes.”
“You’re a superwoman,” I said, entering to see her climb into the shower. “I saw that about you from the start.”
Tavia smiled sleepily. “What took you so long to say so?”
“A complicated life,” I said, and I climbed in after her.
I’d sworn never to get involved with an employee again. I had had a relationship with Justine Smith, a psychologist who works in the L.A. office. I still love Justine and believe she still loves me, but we both know it will never work for all sorts of reasons. Anyway, after we broke up, I’d vowed never again to mix business and love.
Because of that vow, a long time passed before I acted on the spark I felt constantly between Tavia and me. We had a special chemistry, as if we were always riffing on each other’s thoughts. And since I had to be in Rio for repeated, extended periods, first with the World Cup and then with the upcoming Olympics, we’d spent more and more time together.
It felt inevitable in a way. Tavia was smart, funny, experienced, and tough, and like most Brazilians, she genuinely loved life. Study after study has found the people of Brazil, and especially Rio, are among the happiest on earth.