Chapter 69 Lights out
Rafael
We had six days to find sixteen embryos hidden somewhere in the world.
Catherine spread files across the table. Documents we had recovered from Kask's estate before the explosion.
"There has to be something here," she said. "Some clue about where he is keeping them."
Marco was on his laptop, tracking wire transfers. "Kask has shell companies in seventeen countries. Money moving through accounts in the Cayman Islands, Singapore, Switzerland. It is a maze."
"Then we follow the maze," Vittorio said.
I looked at Flora. She had not spoken in an hour. Just sat staring at the six incubators in our medical bay.
"Flora," I said softly. "We need you."
"Do you?" She asked without looking at me. "Because it seems like no matter what I do, children die. I am a curse, Rafael. Everything I touch turns to death."
"That is not true," I said.
"Is it not?" She finally looked at me. Her eyes were red. "Eva died because of me. Dr. Yuki died because of me. Sophia died because of me. And now sixteen more children will die. All because I exist."
I knelt beside her chair. "You did not kill those people. Kask did. Chen did. The people who created Project Genesis did. Not you."
"But I am the reason," she whispered. "I am the genetic template. Without me, none of this happens."
"Without you, those six children would not be alive right now," I reminded her. "Without you, we would not know about the seventeen embryos. Without you, Kask would still be running his experiments in secret."
She did not respond.
"Flora," I said, taking her hands. "I need you to hear me. You are not responsible for the evil that other people do. You are only responsible for how you respond to it. And you have responded with courage, with compassion, with everything good in you. Do not let Kask take that away."
"But what if it is not enough?" she asked. "What if we cannot find those sixteen in time?"
"Then we tried," I said. "That is all anyone can do."
"It is not enough," she said. "Trying is not enough when children's lives are at stake."
Catherine's phone rang. She answered, listened, her expression changing. "When? Are you sure? Okay. Send me everything you have."
She hung up. "That was my contact in Singapore. One of Kask's shell companies just made a large payment to a medical facility outside Jakarta."
"Jakarta?" Marco pulled up a map. "That is Indonesia. What kind of facility?"
"Private clinic," Catherine said, checking her phone. "Specializes in fertility treatments. High-end clientele. Very discreet."
"That is it," Flora said, standing up suddenly. "That is where he is keeping them. It makes perfect sense. A fertility clinic has all the equipment needed for artificial wombs. And no one would question why they have embryos."
"It is a twelve-hour flight to Jakarta," Vittorio said. "And we still do not know if that is actually where the embryos are."
"It is our only lead," I said. "We have to check it out."
"I will go," Flora said. "This is my responsibility."
"We will go," I corrected. "Together."
"What about the six here?" Catherine asked. "They still need care. Monitoring."
"Dr. Rossi can stay with them," Flora said. "And you can coordinate from here. But Rafael and I need to go to Jakarta. Now."
Marco was already booking flights. "There is a plane leaving in three hours. I can get you seats."
"Do it," I said.
Two hours later, Flora and I were at the airport. Vittorio had arranged for weapons to be waiting for us in Jakarta. Marco had sent blueprints of the clinic.
On the plane, Flora was quiet. Staring out the window at the clouds.
"What are you thinking?" I asked.
"I am thinking about what we do if we find them," she said. "If Kask is watching that clinic. If he has security. How do we get sixteen embryos out without being caught?"
"The same way we got six out of Switzerland," I said. "We improvise."
"That worked once," Flora said. "But Kask knows our tactics now. He will be prepared."
"Then we will be more prepared," I said.
She turned to look at me. "Rafael, if something happens to me."
"Nothing will happen," I interrupted.
"But if it does," she insisted. "Promise me you will save those sixteen. Even if it means leaving me behind."
"Flora."
"Promise me," she said. "Promise me you will not let them die just to save me."
I wanted to refuse. Wanted to tell her I would never abandon her. But I saw the determination in her eyes.
"I promise," I lied. Because if it came down to saving Flora or saving sixteen embryos, I knew exactly what I would choose. And it was not the embryos.
We landed in Jakarta twelve hours later. The heat hit us like a wall when we stepped off the plane. Humid. Oppressive.
A car was waiting. One of Vittorio's contacts. A local man named Agus who spoke broken English.
"Clinic is north," Agus said. "One hour drive. Very secure. Many guards."
"How many?" I asked.
"Eight. Maybe ten," Agus said. "All armed. All professional."
"Can you get us inside?" Flora asked.
"Maybe," Agus said. "I know guard. He owes me favor. But only two people. And only for short time."
"That is all we need," I said.
The drive took longer than expected. Jakarta traffic was insane. By the time we reached the clinic, it was already evening.
The building was modern. Glass and steel. Surrounded by high walls and cameras.
"Very expensive," Agus said. "Only rich people come here."
"Where is the guard you know?" I asked.
"East entrance," Agus said. "He works night shift. Starts in one hour."
We waited. Watching the clinic. Counting guards. Looking for weaknesses.
"There," Flora said, pointing to a delivery entrance. "No camera coverage. Probably a blind spot."
"Or a trap," I said.
"Everything is a trap," Flora said. "But we still have to try."
An hour later, Agus's contact arrived. A young man named Budi. He looked nervous.
"You have ten minutes," Budi said in English. "I cannot give more. If they catch you, I know nothing."
"Understood," I said.
Budi let us through the east entrance. Inside, the clinic was pristine. White walls. Expensive artwork. The smell of antiseptic.
"Medical wing is downstairs," Budi whispered. "Basement level. But you need keycard."
He handed me one. "This gets you to basement. After that, I cannot help."
"Thank you," Flora said.
We moved quickly. Down a stairwell. To the basement level. The keycard worked. The door opened.
Beyond it was a corridor. And at the end, a room with frosted glass windows.
We approached carefully. Looked through the glass. Inside were sixteen portable incubators. Each one containing a tiny form.
"We found them," Flora breathed.
"Now we just need to get them out," I said.
That is when the lights went out. Complete darkness.
And in the darkness, I heard something. Footsteps. Many of them.
"It is a trap," I said, reaching for Flora. But she was already gone.
"Flora!" I shouted.