Page 48 of Abe

“Dr. Bradshaw,” he said calmly. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same, Dr. Kwan. What are you doing here? How in the world did you get into the United States and make your way here to SMU? And why would the North Koreans let you go so easily?”

“I am not valuable to them,” he said, standing straighter.

“We both know that’s a lie,” said Thomas. “You’re highly valuable to them, and we know why. You’re spying. You’re stealing technologies and attempting to recreate them.”

“How dare you! I am skilled enough that I don’t need your inferior American technologies.”

“Then why do you have them lying before you?” asked Thomas. He walked toward the table, and Kwan started to push him back, but not before Parker and Zeus made their presence known. Stilling, he watched Thomas examine the table.

“This was developed by NASA. It’s a lovely little device that can scan through any kind of weather and pinpoint a drop point without fail.” He picked up another metal object and turned it in his hand. “This one is rather nasty. It can hold up to eighteen vials of biological material. I’m going to guess toxic, deadly biological materials. It was developed by a pharmaceutical company out of New Jersey.”

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Why does Wolford need the key that his niece has?” asked Ryan. Kwan’s eyes went wide, and he gasped. “I thought so. Why?”

“It opens a box,” said Kwan.

“I’m well aware that it opens a box of some sort. What’s in the box that’s so damn important to him?”

“His brother wasn’t just some blasé criminal like him. He was a gifted designer and inventor. He’d figured out a way to make a thermonuclear and biological weapon in one. His brother wanted it sold to the highest bidder, but he wanted it sold to his own government. That was their disagreement.

“When Wolford killed him, he expected to find everything in the car. It infuriated him that there was nothing there except personal belongings and a cryptex.”

“A cryptex?” frowned Parker.

“It’s a puzzle that, if you don’t have a key or guess letters or words correctly, can release an acid that destroys its contents. If you try to open it, break it, anything other than using the key or solving the puzzle, you’ve lost everything inside,” said Ryan.

“That’s correct,” said Dr. Kwan. “He cannot open the cryptex without the key, and if he attempts to, he will lose the plans for the greatest invention of all time.”

“It’s a god killer,” said Thomas. “Just like in the ancient texts. It will destroy all life.”

“Exactly,” smiled Kwan. His smile turned quickly as three FBI agents and two Homeland agents stood in the doorway of his laboratory.

“I believe we’ve heard enough, Dr. Bradshaw. We can take it from here.”

Parker took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the items on the table. The agent stared at him, frowning.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“Let’s just call it insurance.”

“You’re going to stay with Alec, Tailor, and Jean on the boat,” said Abe. “If we need your image, they’ll do it from here. It’s close enough that we can ensure the image is stable and will fool him long enough to get the girl out.”

“Harlow.”

“Right,” he grinned. “Harlow. Just stay here and do what they say.”

“I promise,” nodded Lyra. “Just come back to me.” She handed him the key around her neck, and he shoved it in his pocket. It was made from a heavy metal, not silver or gold, but definitely something solid. Someone needed this star to stay intact.

Five SUVs took off toward the Wolford Ranch but before hitting the county line turned their stealth technology on. They passed multiple state troopers, their radar going crazy at seemingly nothing going by them at a hundred miles per hour.

Parking inside the trees, they kept the stealth on and marched through the dim light of the forest, watching for hidden dangers. Some kept their sights on the trees, others downward to the forest floor for trip wires. The rest kept their eyes on the land ahead.

By the time they reached the back of the ranch, it was pitch black. There were no security lights at that part of the property, but they were careful, nevertheless.

“The bunker is ahead,” whispered Abe. Surrounding the mound of dirt, Abe and Nate moved to the front of it, a faint light radiating from around the small opening.

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