Payne & Jones 08 - The Einstein Pursuit, page 25
From the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes, Dial knew she was telling the truth. ‘How’d he die?’
‘Parkinson’s,’ she said, bitterly. ‘First it took his hands. Then it took his legs. Then it took his life. Toward the end, he wanted to die.’
Dial wondered how a gunsmith could work with a crippling disease like Parkinson’s. Even with the best drugs and therapy, it would be impossible to build world-class weapons without an extra set of hands. And then it hit him – the reason Josephine never reported the death of her father. The reason no one knew he had even been sick. And most importantly, the reason they were making guns so far away from the public eye.
He leaned back in his chair and nodded. ‘I’ll be damned. You’re the craftsman. Not your father. You.’
‘I am now,’ she admitted with a shrug, ‘but it wasn’t always that way. My father was the best gunsmith in the world. He could take a hunk of metal and turn it into a work of art. But when his hands started to go, he had nowhere else to turn. Thankfully, I was shooting before I could walk, studying his designs before I could read. Over the years, he taught me everything he knew. All the tricks, the nuances that made his guns such prized possessions.’
‘Illegal possessions, I might add.’
She waved off his comment. ‘What is legal in our country may be prohibited in the next. We cannot be held accountable for that. Technically, by the laws of our land, we have done nothing wrong. Our facility is registered. We have the requisite manufacturer’s license, and we do not sell to the citizens of Luxembourg. Besides, many of our weapons are sold as collectibles. In many parts of the world, they qualify as art.’
‘Full auto pistols? Suppression barrels? You call that art? You know there’s no legitimate reason to request such modifications. You think these guys were hunters? Let me tell you, the only places you hunt with something like that are city streets.’
‘Like I said, we have no interest in what becomes of our products.’
‘Well I do,’ Dial countered. ‘If you’d like, I can dedicate my life to shutting you down, or you can help me find some of the criminals you’ve sold to. In exchange, I swear to keep your name out of things. No one will ever know the information came from you. Furthermore, you can keep pretending that your father is still running things – which I assume is important to some of your Middle Eastern customers. After all, who would want to buy a gun from a girl?’
She knew he was right. ‘Which criminals?’
He smiled. ‘Let’s start with the bastard who attacked my friend. His men were armed with Beretta knockoffs with biometric palm scanners.’
‘Biometric palm scanners?’ she asked, confused. ‘You’re joking, are you not? We have never dealt in such things. You must be mistaken.’
‘Josephine,’ he said with a laugh, ‘I thought we were finally beginning to understand each other. You do me a favor, and I do you a favor. Unfortunately, that only works if you hold up your end of the bargain. Remember, one phone call from me and your business disappears.’
‘Do not move,’ ordered a voice from behind him. The demand was followed by the unmistakable click of a pistol being cocked.
‘Natalia!’ Josephine shouted. ‘What are you doing?’
Dial turned slowly to see a younger version of Josephine standing behind him. It was obvious that Natalia was Josephine’s daughter. It was also obvious that she knew how to handle a gun, based on her steady aim and perfect stance. Of course, that made sense, given that her mother was one of the best gunsmiths in the world.
‘Lower your weapon,’ Dial insisted.
‘Why are you here?’ Natalia demanded.
‘Natalia, he is from Interpol,’ Josephine explained in French. ‘He has only come to talk. We have done nothing wrong. Please put down the pistol.’
After a few more seconds of posturing, Natalia uncocked the hammer and holstered the weapon. As she did, Dial caught a glimpse of the same biometric palm scanner that Payne had discovered on the gun in Pittsburgh.
‘I must apologize for my daughter,’ Josephine said. ‘You came to our farm in the middle of the night. A stranger she did not know. She was merely trying to protect me.’
‘Heir to the family business?’ he guessed.
Josephine nodded. ‘She has been studying the craft since she was a child.’
‘Oh, I’d say she’s been doing a little more than studying, haven’t you, Natalia?’ He pointed at her holstered weapon. ‘That grip sure looks familiar.’
Natalia looked down at her weapon.
‘Natalia, what does he mean by that?’ Josephine asked.
Natalia tried pulling her sweater over the holster, but the gun was simply too big to be concealed.
Josephine stepped forward, pulled back the sweater, and drew the gun from its holster. She examined the grip, immediately recognizing the palm-scanning technology that Dial had just mentioned. ‘Natalia … what have you done?’
‘It is nothing. A custom order. I do them on my own.’
‘Your job is to take orders and see they have been shipped,’ Josephine argued. ‘You are not ready to design your own line, and you have no right to alter my creations!’
‘They aren’t buying your creations! They are buying my modifications!’
Dial reached under his jacket and unholstered his own gun. Then he slid his hands under the table, just in case Natalia panicked. ‘Let me see if I got this straight. Your mom makes the guns, but you make the changes before you box them and send them off?’
Natalia answered his question with a subtle nod.
Dial laughed at the absurdity of the situation. He couldn’t believe that one of the most respected arms dealers in the world was a defiant teenager.
‘Why are you laughing?’ Natalia demanded.
‘Natalia, be quiet,’ Josephine said.
He continued to laugh. ‘Your customers are going to love this. So will your competitors. And so will my friend. I forgot about him. He’s gonna be pissed when he finds out her custom order almost got him killed.’
‘She is only a girl. She stays out of this!’
‘Of course,’ Dial said as he nodded to the empty chair to his right, ‘but only if she sits down and tells me everything I want to know. In fact, that statement applies to you, too. By the time this conversation is over, the three of us are going to be the best of friends. But before we get started, I need you to do two things for me. First, I want you to hand me that gun …’
Josephine, who was riding a crest of emotions, glanced down and realized she was holding her daughter’s gun so tightly that her hand was turning white. She apologized for the oversight and placed the weapon on the table in front of Dial.
‘Thank you. You were making me nervous,’ he said.
She nodded. ‘What’s number two?’
He smiled at her. ‘Where’s that coffee you promised me?’
49
The car crested a small slope and stopped near a meticulously groomed wall of shrubbery that shielded the property beyond from the prying eyes of those on the street. Between the road and the hedge was a wide iron gate: another deterrent that ensured privacy.
Payne watched as Stanley lowered the window and pressed his hand against a scanning device. A series of six lights lit up in turn – the first for his palm, then one for each of his fingertips – and Payne could hear the distinct ping of the magnetic locks disengaging. The electric gates retracted, allowing access to the driveway.
As they drove past the protective blockade of landscaping, the back half of the magnificent estate came into view. Though no stranger to prime real estate, Payne was impressed with the natural design. The multi-tiered structure was a collection of distinct bungalows. In the center was a larger main area. Together they appeared to Payne as southern California’s opulent version of a quaint bed and breakfast. They passed a small fountain in the middle of the driveway’s roundabout and pulled up next to the building’s stately entrance.
‘Let me show you around,’ Gambaro said with a smile.
Payne, Jones and Sahlberg exited the car and followed.
On the other side of the carved wooden doors, they found a warm, inviting lobby with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that faced the back half of the property. Payne could see more bungalows lining the rocky bluffs and a perfectly manicured lawn that stretched more than two hundred feet. At the far end was a patio that overlooked the pounding surf of the Pacific Ocean below.
‘Holy crap,’ Payne whispered to Jones. ‘Frank Lloyd Wright outdid himself on this one. I might need to buy this place.’
‘If you do, please hire me as the pool boy.’
‘Pool? What pool? I haven’t seen one yet.’
‘Me neither,’ Jones admitted, ‘but let’s be honest, I’m not going to clean it anyway.’
Gambaro led them to the second floor, a trip that took nearly a full minute. At the top of the stairs, the landing opened on to a rooftop terrace dominated by a massive circular table. It was like something out of Camelot, only with ocean views. Seated around the table were an elderly woman and two men who were considerably younger.
‘Welcome,’ the woman said without standing. ‘I am Rita Dawson. And you are Jonathon Payne and David Jones, correct? Come now, which is which?’
They could tell from her accent that she was Australian, and based on her sunglasses – which were oversized and opaque – she was also blind.
‘Jon Payne, ma’am.’
Rita turned toward the sound of his voice. ‘Ma’am, is it? No need for formality. Rita is fine.’
‘David Jones,’ Jones announced.
‘Very pleased to meet both of you.’ She smiled and turned her focus toward Sahlberg. ‘Mattias, how long has it been?’
‘Too long,’ he answered as he stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek. ‘You’re as beautiful as ever, my dear.’
Rita blushed as Payne and Jones looked on. ‘Please, everyone sit down.’
The younger men extended their hands in greeting as Payne and Jones approached the table.
‘Charles Fell,’ said the first, his words tinged by his Welsh heritage.
‘Benjamin Grossman,’ the second added with an Israeli accent.
‘Tell me,’ Rita asked, ‘what has Juan Carlos told you of our little collective?’
‘Enough to get us started, but clearly not everything,’ Payne replied.
‘Then you have more questions?’
‘We do.’
‘By all means, fire away!’ she implored. ‘We have nothing to hide. If we did, we wouldn’t have brought you here in the first place.’
‘Let’s start there. Where are we? What is this place?’
‘This is one of the properties we own – a sanctuary where our members can find peace and quiet and, if need be, isolation. The rooms are all self-sufficient, but there are also communal areas such as the kitchen, library and media room. And of course the outside facilities: the pool, spa and sunset patio.’
Jones smiled at the mention of the pool. ‘Sounds like a pretty good deal.’
She nodded. ‘Our intention is to provide a stress-free atmosphere for our visitors. The more serene the environment, the more comfortable the guest. The more comfortable the guest, the more they can focus.’
‘Focus on what?’
‘Whatever issue they’ve come to tackle,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Our members represent a wide range of disciplines from countries around the world.’
‘And they can just show up whenever they’re in town?’
‘Of course. They are welcome here, or at any of our other residences.’
‘How many properties do you own?’
‘Several. In the United States alone, we have the west coast bungalows here, a ranch in Colorado, houses in Chicago, Seattle and New York City, a collection of villas on St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, and a breathtaking place in Malta.’
‘How does someone join the Einstein Group?’
‘Members must be invited. And invitations are extended only to those who have demonstrated a significant contribution to their field or fields.’
‘Tomas Berglund was a member?’
‘Yes.’
‘What about the lab in Stockholm?’
‘What about it?’ she asked.
‘Was it an Einstein facility?’
‘No,’ she answered. ‘The first we heard of it was after the explosion. It had nothing to do with our work.’
Jones spoke up. ‘That doesn’t make any sense. A facility of that size, with all the prominent names working there – how could he keep something like that a secret?’
‘It would take an effort,’ she admitted. ‘But the question that concerns us isn’t how he kept it a secret. The thing that worries us is why.’
Payne and Jones exchanged nervous glances.
Rita continued. ‘For the last three decades, Tomas Berglund has been one of our most treasured assets. His brilliance in the area of practical application was unlike anyone we have ever seen. His creativity was never challenged, but his impulses grew to be somewhat of a concern.’
‘Meaning what?’ Sahlberg asked.
Grossman cleared his throat. ‘No disrespect, Dr Sahlberg, but you certainly realized that Tomas didn’t always agree with the ideals of our institution. In particular, the ways in which we disseminated information to the general public.’
Jones laughed. ‘In other words, you have a bunch of secrets.’
Grossman nodded. ‘Tomas felt we should be more open with our discoveries. He argued that we should always look to push the pace of scientific advancement. We agreed with the latter sentiment – in fact, we like to think we were the motivating force behind many of the greatest scientific advancements of the past century – but we challenged his notion of how to share this information with the world at large.’
Fell explained. ‘New discoveries and new technologies often need to be released in a limited stream to protect humanity from itself. For instance, our scientists have developed a cure for the common cold. We’ve had it for several years now. However, if we flood the market with this product, there’s a chance the rhinoviruses and coronaviruses – the two most common cold viruses – will mutate into something more problematic. If we’re not careful, coughs and sniffles may be replaced by bloody noses and lung tumors.’
‘No thanks,’ Jones said.
‘And Berglund didn’t agree?’ Payne asked.
‘Tomas pushed for research we did not necessarily feel was in the best interests of mankind. The more we attempted to steer his endeavors back toward projects we were comfortable with, the more palpable his frustration grew.’
‘This is true,’ Sahlberg confirmed. ‘Tomas was frustrated by the methodical pace of the group. He would often reach out to me in the middle of the night in search of an understanding ear. Typically I could calm him down and make him realize that these were small concessions when compared to the greater good.’
Payne grimaced. ‘I’m not trying to be difficult, but what gives you the right – any of you – to determine what anyone should or should not be researching?’
Rita answered. ‘We have a responsibility to protect the world from the misuses of our collective knowledge, do we not? It is a tenet we have held to since the beginning. Without it, we are doomed to a similar fate as Oppenheimer. Having realized the magnitude of his atomic bomb, he said, “Now, I have become death, the destroyer of worlds.”’
Jones groaned. ‘Let’s hope that isn’t what Berglund had in mind.’
50
Payne studied his hosts, trying to get a sense of their mood. ‘When was the last time any of you heard from Berglund?’
Rita pointed at Sahlberg. ‘Mattias talked to him roughly two months ago. As for the rest of the group, it’s been closer to three months.’
‘Why did he pull away?’
Gambaro shrugged. ‘We aren’t sure why – nor do we know what he was doing. And that’s what has us worried.’
Fell nodded. ‘Someone of his skill, with his abilities, must be handled with care.’
Grossman agreed. ‘Monitoring his activities is essential.’
The comment upset Sahlberg, who pounded the table in frustration. ‘He’s not an experiment to be handled or monitored. He’s a man – a brilliant one at that. His thoughts are his, not ours. We have no more right to them than to the blood in his veins.’
Payne put his hand on Sahlberg’s shoulder and patted it gently. He wanted to quell the rising emotions before things got out of hand. ‘Everybody just take a deep breath. I can see where you’re all coming from, and everyone has a valid point.’
Jones spoke next. ‘Mattias is right: a man is entitled to think whatever he likes, without the need to answer for his thoughts. However, the fear felt by the rest of you is justified. I think we would all sleep a little more soundly if we knew exactly what he has been working on.’
‘What have you done to find him?’ Payne asked.
Rita answered. ‘Inquiries were made, but we were forced to do so delicately. We are not, as you might have guessed, a group that welcomes publicity. It was our hope that someone as recognizable as Tomas would be unable to fly under the radar for very long. Unfortunately, it seems we have underestimated his skill set. Apparently he is as talented at avoiding detection as he is in other areas. In fact, we were hoping you might be able to help us.’
‘With what?’
‘Filling in some of the missing details.’
‘We can do that right now,’ Payne said. ‘We know that Berglund was running human trials in Stockholm. The coroner located synthetic cells in several of the fire victims.’
‘So,’ Gambaro said, ‘we’re no longer dealing in hypotheticals.’
‘I’m afraid not. The cells are very much a reality,’ Sahlberg said. He went on to describe how his research in immortal cell lines might have influenced Berglund’s experiments. For the most part, the science was way above Payne and Jones’s understanding.
‘Does that technology pose a threat?’ Payne wondered.
