Part8

When Harvey and Antwon arrived at the lab, Angel had her hands in mechanical gloves, working with a Petrie dish. They watched in silence from the other side of the glass window as she injected a substance into the dish, and then watched the contents in the dish change. After a moment, she took her hands out of the gloves, and went to join them. Antwon left as Angel was settling Harvey into the lab. She began by familiarizing him with all the equipment.

“Now that I know what all this stuff is, are you going to tell me what were using it for?”

“Don’t you know?” She said almost with contempt in her voice.

“No I don’t...what makes you think I do?” He responded defensively

“I figured he’d tell you his plan...Chambers did hire you didn’t he?”

“Oh yeah, that’s what happened...that’s why I’ve been kidnapped, locked up, knocked out, and beaten up!...I am not doing this because I want to Angel!”

“Then why are you!?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo of Jerry he kept in his wallet. “My son, his name is Jerry, if I don’t help you, he’ll be dead.”

Her face dropped, and she was overwhelmed with guilt at thinking that Harvey would willingly work for Chambers. “I’m sorry.” She said as she handed him back the photo. “I didn’t know... I guess I have gotten so used to not trusting anyone around here.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just tell me what it is that we’re doing.” She pointed to the nearby microscope, and he bent down to take a look at the slide.

“Look familiar?” She asked

“Yeah, but-”

“Bacillus anthracis, Anthrax-”

“Dear God, he can’t be planning to infect people with this!”

Angel changed the slide, and continued to talk. “No, he’s planning to infect people with this.” She let him look at the new slide.

“What the hell is this?”

“He’s calling it SuperThrax, it’s the Anthrax bacteria enhanced with the use of nanoprobes.”

“This can’t be stable?”

“Actually because of the nanotechnology, it is quite stable.”

Harvey slumped onto the stool next to him, trying to take in all that he had just learned. He had always known that Chambers was extreme with his desire to make the world a better place, but this was going too far. Such a drastic measure seemed unreal. Now more than ever he knew he had to find a way to stop Chambers, and he didn’t have much time.

***

Walking through the building, Nash began to get rather suspicious. He moved through another corridor, and narrowly avoided the two large men he had met before. The further he went into the house, the more he began to wonder what exactly was going on. He had made his way to the basement when he decided he might be better off going back. In the near hour he had been searching he had found nothing, and it didn’t seem like he’d find anything any time soon. Starting to go back, he realized he was a bit lost. “Must have missed a turn back there.” He muttered to himself as he turned again to see where he went wrong. It wasn’t too long after, that Nash was hopelessly lost in the inner corridors of the Chambers Mansion. Damn photographic memory isn’t doing me a bit a good wandering around this place he thought to himself as he continued to move through the building. Suddenly he heard voices coming from a nearby room, and he stopped to listen. He couldn’t recognize either of the voices, but he stayed quiet and listened to them talk.

“Look, Chambers is losing it. He thinks he can get this cop to go along with him, but I gotta bad feeling about this. I just don’t want to be there when Chambers gets dropped.”

“Man you’re crazy if you think I am gonna cross Mr. Chambers. He’s got Riley with that cop’s kid, there’s no way the guy will do anything to jeopardize his own son. Don’t worry about it man. After tomorrow Chambers’s plan will be in play, and everything will be just fine.” Nash wanted to hear more, but the two men walked away and Nash was unable to hear anymore of their conversation. Quickly he did his best to make it back to the exit. It took several tries before he was able to get to the right corridor, but finally he did, and he raced away back to the SIU.

***

Back at the SIU, Rachel was feverishly looking through computer files, and searching for any lead to Chambers. As she clicked away with the mouse, she started to notice a pattern in all the information she had gathered. It had been nearly three hours since Nash had left, and she was sure she finally had a break. She started putting together all the information she was gathering. Things were starting to make sense to her, but she was not liking what she saw. She tried to call Nash, but he was not answering his cell. Cassidy had also begun to help her in her search, and the two were accumulating an impressive amount of information. A little while later Nash arrived, and Cassidy chewed him out for not answering his cell.

“Excuse me Officer Bridges...I wasn’t aware I was running on your schedule. I’ll be sure and check in next time the battery on my phone dies.” He shot back at her as she gave him a angry but concerned look.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bite your head off, we were just a little worried about you.”

“Look, we need to figure out what Chambers is up to and fast. Whatever it is, it is going down tomorrow.”

“I think I may have a lead on that one Nash.” Rachel interjected as Nash was picking up the phone. Looking directly at her, he hung up the phone.

“Go ahead.”

“Cass and I were doing some searching on our own, and well we found some interesting things that seem to be linked to Chambers.” Cassidy walked over and handed Nash a set of folders they had put together.

“The first few pages are a list of robberies that have occurred between here and Boston, from the time that Dr. Munoz disappeared from the hospital there, to now. At first I thought I was reaching because they seemed pretty random, but then I checked a little deeper. All the businesses robbed, had recently hired employees from the same company...a Diamond’s Software...” Cassidy broke in with some more details.

“Thing is Diamond’s Software doesn’t exist. The papers on the company say that a Thomas Colby owned it. Mr. Colby passed away three years before the company was started, but as it turns out, Colby was a family lawyer for the Chambers family. Chambers used his name to start the dummy company to cover his tracks.”

“This is pretty good work you two, but how does all the ripped off merchandise fit together? It looks like a bunch of high tech equipment, but what is it for?” Nash had glanced at the list of stolen items, and them a puzzled look.

“I have a theory on that...I did a little checking into Dr. Munoz, and it turns out that she was working on some cutting edge research with nanotechnology. All the equipment that was stolen was much the same as the equipment that was being used in her research in Boston.”

“What was she working on exactly?” Nash asked.

“She was working on vaccines for several different bacteria that use the nanoprobes to enhance the vaccine’s effects.”

“What kinds of vaccines?”

“Everything from the measles to Anthrax.” Nash stared at her in amazement.

“He wouldn’t do something so insane as to try and infect people with one of these enhanced bacteria.”

“That is what I am afraid of. Looking at all that was stolen, it would seem like that is his plan.” Rachel shook her head and sat down in front of Nash.

“Well we are just gonna have to move fast here and see if we can stop this before it goes down.” Nash motioned for Ronnie to come closer, and then picked up the phone.

***

The room was completely quiet while Harvey and Angel worked in the lab. Harvey was racking his brain to figure out what he was going to do to stop Chambers, but it was no use. From where he was standing, there was very little he could do. While the thoughts moved through his mind, Chambers and Antwon joined them.

“Good evening.” Chambers said as he stepped into the lab. “How is our project progressing?”

“Just fine.” Harvey answered as Angel kept on working.

“I trust that Dr. Munoz has helped you settle in okay?”

“Quite nicely. This is some little scheme you’ve got going here. You don’t really expect it to work do you?”

“Well, if it doesn’t, little Jerry will have to pay the price now won’t he?” Harvey wanted to ring Chamber’s neck, but Antwon grabbed him from behind.

“Easy now Leek. It’s not nice to get angry with the man who has life of your son in his hands. What kind of friend are you?”

“You son of a bitch!”

Harvey sat back down after Antwon released him, and he was seething. Everything in him wanted to kill John, and even Antwon at that moment. He struggled to calm himself, and looked up at Chambers.

“Just what are you planning to do?” He asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Well, if I told you that, that might spoil all my fun.”

“I guess you’re right. No need to spoil your fun, I can make a pretty good guess as to where you plan to drop this stuff anyway.”

“Oh really?” Antwon asked.

“Of course! Babcock I know this moron pretty well.” Pointing a finger at John. “He’s more than predictable.”

“Then where’s it going to be Harvey?” Chambers scoffed

“Now what do get I out of telling you something you already know? That would be a waste of time. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” Harvey made a zipping movement across his lips, and smirked at them. Antwon began to get a bit angry, and reached for Harvey’s collar.

“Let go of him!” Angel shouted. When Antwon saw the look of compassion in her eyes he couldn’t contain his rage. His right arm swung back and caught her across the face. Angel tumbled to the floor and struggled to get back up. Antwon cursed her and yanked her up by the hair. Harvey reached out for her as she screamed in pain. Letting her go, Antwon took a swing at Harvey but missed. Instead, Harvey managed to duck and pulled off a right cross of his own knocking his former partner to the ground. As Antwon rose Chambers quickly stepped in and pulled him away and sent him out of the lab.

“He does get a bit testy at times. How did you ever handle being partnered with him?”

“He wasn’t half the pain my last partner was. I guess I just got used to it.” Harvey replied as he helped Angel to the nearby chair and attended to her.

“Now as far as the drop goes, I’m not as predictable as you might think. Not even the great and wise Harvey Leek could figure out my plan.”

“Hmmm...Let me guess. You’re going to spread these bacteria all over the city. My guess is that you’re planning to use some sort of explosion to get it into the air, and if I am right you have a few set to go off in a few other places as well. It wouldn’t be right if you didn’t include the rest of the country in this plan to make it all a better place. Do you really think by killing people you are going to make things better?”

“I’ll be getting rid of those that serve no purpose.” John cracked his knuckles, and sat down.

“No purpose! I must have missed the day you become God! You don’t have the right to decide who deserves to live and who doesn’t.”

“And who does? God? The same God that let the world get into the state that it’s in right now? I am doing us all a favor. I am finishing what He started.” John pointed upward, and laughed. All Angel could do was shake her head as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Have I upset you doctor? Forgive me, but you have to admit I’m right.”

“I don’t have to admit anything. You’re insane!”

“Am I now? Consider this...you worked everyday in a hospital and saw thousands of patients. They went in and out, you tell them the possible treatments for their illnesses, and some take them, and others don’t. All the work you do, and more and more people still get sick and die. Innocent, guilty, it doesn’t matter. What about that little child brought in, by the father that just beat him half to death, say the child dies...Does the father really deserve to live, or that boy deserve to die?”

“That’s not the same thing.

“Tell me how it’s different?”

“It’s completely different. People live and people die, but it isn’t our place to choose when or how. Sometimes those kids make it, and some don’t. It makes me as angry as the next person, but I’m not going to go out and kill the man for killing his son. We don’t have the right to make that decision, because if we do it makes us no better than that father.” Chambers eyed Angel with contempt, and started to walk out of the room. Before he made it to the door he turned around.

“Make sure you have this done by morning.”

***

Nash walked onto the deck of the barge and saw his daughter standing alone looking out at water.

“What’s up Cassidy?” He asked as he walked up behind her. Startled a bit, she jumped and then turned around.

“I’m just worried about Harvey. We don’t even know if he’s ok.” With her arms crossed her chest, she reminded him of her mother, and Nash reached out to her.

“We’re gonna get him back, and I’m sure he’ll be just fine. If my guess is right, Chambers would rather have him alive than not. Don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t help it Daddy.” She pulled away from Nash, and he held her face for a moment. A tear rolled down her cheek. “If we had been able to keep Mackenzie alive, none of this would have happened-”

“Stop right there sister. You and Harvey did the best you could have. No one could have predicted that things would turn out this way. Don’t blame yourself.”

“How can I not? I let him down.” Nash saw the hurt in her eyes, and he felt for her. There was very little he could do at that moment. Before he could respond to her, Ronnie walked up and told them that the head of the bomb squad had arrived.

“All right Ronnie, I’ll be down in a minute...We’ll talk about this later sweetie, but right now we need to focus on getting Harvey back safe.” He said turning to Cassidy.

Walking back down to his desk he watched as a small man wearing an oddly shaped plaid hat sat down in his chair. Getting closer, he nodded at the Captain of the bomb squad and pointed to the man in his desk.

“Bridges this is Dr. Alan Harper. He’s a professor at Berkeley, and one of the men that created the system that Inspector McCabe is wearing.” They both extended a hand and greeted one another.

“So you can help get her out of that vest?” He asked. The little man shook his head, and asked where she was. They led him to her, and watched as his hands whizzed around the vest and then pulled out a laptop from the bag he had been carrying.

“This is absolutely amazing. The circuitry alone is some the most impressive work I’ve seen in years.” He connected his laptop to the vest circuits, and started typing away. Rachel watched in awe as he punched in codes, and began to unlock the vest.

“The only person I’ve ever seen work that fast at code cracking is Harvey.” She commented as his hands rapidly moved across the keyboard.

“Who do you think taught him Inspector?” He responded with a smile.

***

It had been almost an hour since Chambers left the lab, and Angel turned to Harvey and started crying. He put his arm around her, and tried calming her.

“How can he be that crazy?” She asked looking into Harvey’s warm blue eyes.

“I think he has had a lot of years to work on it.”

“I mean how could I end up here? None of this makes much sense to me anymore. This all seems like one horrific nightmare that I can’t ever wake up from.” She pounded her fists against the nearby counter and continued crying. Harvey wished there were more he could say to her, but he couldn’t think of much. He looked into her eyes and smiled as he held her close. Opening his mouth to speak, he was suddenly halted by the mammoth figure of Frank entering the lab. Frank stared at the two of them for a moment before speaking. Noticing the fresh bruise on his sister’s face a rush of anger passed through him, and he knew he had to do something to help her.

“I can’t let him do this anymore. I’m gonna put a stop to this.” The anger flooded him and he turned to leave the room. Angel reached out to stop him, but fell from the chair and both men were quickly at her side.

“Angel are you ok?” They asked simultaneously helping her to her to sit up.

“I just got dizzy for a moment.”

“You took a pretty nasty bump earlier. Maybe you should rest for now.” Harvey said as he looked into her tired eyes. She did her best to try and stand, but it was no use. Angrily Frank got up and headed for the door. Harvey quickly followed.

“Wait a minute!” He called out as Frank began to walk away.

“What!?”

“I get that you want some payback for all that she has been through, but maybe there is a better way.” Frank stared at him curiously, and followed Harvey back into the lab.

“What would that be?” He asked.

“I have a plan that can get us all out of here safe and stop Chambers, but I need your help.”

“What makes you think you can stop Chambers?” Frank asked Harvey as they stood together in the lab.

“Because I know him. He may know a number of things, but he underestimates us. We can stop him, but we have to do this together. Angel and I can’t get out of here, but you can.” Frank shook his head and stared at the floor.

“What is it you want me to do?”

Harvey pulled Frank close and began to tell him the details of his plan. At first he was hesitant to go along with him, but Frank knew there was really no other way to get his sister free from Chambers’s grasp. He didn’t care about himself anymore, all he wanted was to get her away from all of this.

***

Waiting for Harvey and Angel to finish their work had become tiring for John, and he paced around his office thinking. All the efforts he had put into making his dream a reality were finally coming to a head. His ego seemed to swell at the thought of himself being the creator of a perfect world. Each detail had been prepared for, but he had not counted on Harvey turning down this chance. He had always thought of Harvey as a smart man, intelligent enough to realize that his plan was full proof. As he paced and thought a bit more, a young man entered carrying a small box. Handing it to John he quickly made an exit. With a smile on his face John gladly removed the contents of the box and placed it on his desk. The tiny blue pills were just what he needed to take the edge off the annoying thoughts he was beginning to form in his mind. Staring blankly at the wall for a moment he downed two of the pills and sat down in his comfortable leather chair. As he waited for the drugs to take effect his mind again wandered to Harvey and Angel’s earlier comments. Perhaps they made a small point, but he knew in his heart his solution was the best possible choice. Once the drugs began to take hold, thoughts of Harvey and Angel quickly fled from his mind, and he was left with only his dream of a new world.

***

The SIU was buzzing with people for 4:30 in the morning, and they were all determined to get this case wrapped up and get Harvey back safely. Nash had been so busy he had not even thought about Joe even once. With all the other things going on around him, it had completely left his mind. As he glanced about the room he saw the determined faces of the men and women around him, and he was proud. They were his officers and his team doing their best to help one of their own. Looking through some files, he glanced up to see Harper jump from the chair he had been working from and walk out of the tent. Everyone watched him go in amazement. A few seconds later Harper returned with a huge grin across his face.

“So how is it going?” Nash asked walking closer.

“Well, in about three minutes I will either have the vest off of her or we’ll all be blown to pieces.” The little man gave a slight laugh at his remark, and Nash glared at him with concern.

“Should we be worried?”

“Nah, I’ve got it under control.” Breathing a sigh of relief Nash walked back to his stack of files and continued to sift through them. He glanced up at the clock a few times during the next three minutes anxiously waiting for Rachel to be freed from the vest. Harper kept working and the three minutes fast approached. The ticking seemed to get louder to Nash as Harper neared completion. Each tick appeared to be in tune with his own heart rate. A crowd had gathered around to watch. Finally the last few seconds ticked on, and Harper tapped into the keyboard and then stopped. Setting the laptop on the desk he carefully reached for the vest. The beads of sweat rolled down Rachel’s temples and she held her breath. A few tugs and a turn and it came right off. Everyone began to cheer as he placed the vest on the desk and allowed Rachel to stand.

After breathing a sigh of relief she quickly thanked Harper and exited the tent.

“Well my work here is done Inspector Bridges. If you ever need anything else just let me know.” Harper said as he shook Nash’s hand and gathered his tools.

“Don’t get me wrong, but I hope I don’t need you for this again.”