“And if I did catch her, you were worried that she'd hypnotize me with her charm or bribe me. That’s what you were getting at when you asked if she had offered me anything. You wanted to know if she tried to buy me off with promises of extended life.”
“Yes. She would have had to convince you it really worked, have you talk to some of her other, ah . . . clients, that sort of thing, but I did wonder if she had at least raised the prospect.”
“She didn’t say a single word about it.”
“I believe you. Perhaps she would have if we hadn’t intervened.” He paused and then sighed heavily. “But you see what we’re up against. How can you trust anyone when she can offer them the keys to the fountain of youth?”
“Which is why you didn’t share the entire truth with Colonel Connelly,” said Desh knowingly. “And why you kept me under surveillance.”
“Exactly. I don’t trust anyone where Kira Miller is concerned. If you ignored Connelly’s instructions and captured her, she could offer you the ultimate bribe to gain her freedom. At that point there is no guarantee that you would follow through and call us in. We didn’t want to leave that to your discretion.”
That could well have been her plan, Desh realized. She had told him her goal was to recruit him to her side, perhaps their discussion was prelude to her revealing what she considered the ultimate recruiting tool.
“I can’t be bought,” said Desh firmly. “Even with extended life.”
Smith nodded. “Again, I believe you. Your military records show that you are a man of impeccable integrity, Mr. Desh. But even so, any man who says he wouldn’t be at least a tiny bit tempted to drink from the fountain is a liar.”
“Including you?”
“Including me,” acknowledged Smith.
Desh pursed his lips in thought. Smith had referred to his military records and said they spoke to his integrity. But Kira had claimed to have made a thorough study of him, including these records. If this was true, she would have known how highly he valued his integrity. In fact, she had said that this trait, among others, was the reason she wanted to recruit him in the first place. But if this were the case, she would have known any attempt at a bribe, regardless of the lure, would have failed. So maybe this hadn’t been her plan, after all.
Smith had cleared up some questions but many more remained.
“So what about the terrorist connection and Ebola plot,” said Desh. “Is this just a fabrication? Did you invent it to get everyone hunting for her?”
“I wish this were the case,” said Smith gravely. He yanked the steering wheel to the left to avoid a grisly mass of fur and blood the headlights had suddenly revealed ahead of them. “But I’m afraid it’s very real,” he continued a few seconds later, the car steady once again as the unrecognizable road-kill receded behind them. “And with her abilities you can be sure the attack will succeed.”
Desh looked confused. “But why would she work with terrorists?” he asked. “It doesn’t make any sense. What can she gain from a bio-weapons attack? She has all the money and power she could want.”
“You would think,” agreed Smith. “But apparently not. We don’t know what her angle is on the Ebola plot. But rest assured, whatever it is, it moves her agenda forward. She’s a far better chess player than we are. Just because we can’t understand one of her moves doesn’t mean it’s random.” He shrugged. “Maybe she plans on blackmailing the government to call off the attack in the eleventh hour. Maybe she wants to get in bed with powerful people on both sides of the war on terror for her own ends. We don’t know. All we know is that the threat is very real and she’s behind it. Stopping this attack is still the primary purpose of the Op, regardless of any other reason we have for wanting her.”
Desh shook his head irritably. “That’s bullshit and you know it!” he snapped. “Getting the secret of extended life is the primary purpose of the Op.” Before Smith could respond he added, “Suppose I had her in my sights, and I knew for certain that killing her would end the bioterror threat. Would you have me pull the trigger?”
“It’s not as easy as that,” replied Smith. “We need to know what she knows about the Ebola plot. Taking her alive could well be the only way to stop it.”
“You’re ducking the question. I asked a hypothetical. Would you support killing her if you knew, with certainty, that this would end the threat? Suppose, even, it was the only way to end the threat.” He stared intently at the wiry driver. “Well?”
Smith hesitated. “It still isn’t that simple. If you killed her, you might stop the murder of several million people, but at the expense of extended life for all of humankind now and in future generations. Where do you draw the line? Would you save two million people from dying an average of thirty years sooner than otherwise, even if you knew it was at the cost of preventing more than six billion people, in this generation alone, from living longer? Say an average of seventy years longer?”