‘There are rules of engagement, Kel. We have strict protocols.’
She stared at him oddly. ‘Protocols like that shit you took in Iraq that gave you vomiting and headaches for seven years?’
‘Fair point.’
‘How many did you lose to that?’
‘We’ll never know. It turned men crazy.’
‘Wasn’t that the point? Turn them into deranged killers? And who benefitted from that experiment?’
‘What are you asking me?’
‘Think about it. Who might gain from unleashing something so powerful that men are no longer scared to walk into battle and straight at the enemy?’
‘Are you serious?’
‘You saw what that man did. Paul isn’t a convict, nor is he a soldier. He’s a sales rep, for God’s sake.’
‘So, how…’
The penny dropped. Johnny looked back to the hotel, and then to Kelly.
‘What’s in this stuff?’
‘We don’t know yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I won’t get my hands anywhere near an investigation into it, which is why I need your help. Nobody will own this. I have a lab report telling me that it induces rage, but I have no evidence that links it directly with lethality. You know where this is going. Those people who threatened Emma, Ted and us – our daughter – these are the people who are protecting this stuff.’
‘You need to leave this one alone, Kel.’
‘I can’t.’
‘You have to.’
Her phone buzzed and it was Emma back at Eden House.
They’d heard.
‘Boss, are you OK?’
‘I’m fine.’
‘We found Lee Lovett.’
‘What?’
‘He was in a road traffic accident. We think he was on his phone.’
Kelly’s mind whirred. ‘Is he OK?’
‘Unconscious. He was airlifted to the Penrith and Lakes.’
‘A bad smash then?’
‘We received an email from him around the time the folks on the ground estimate the RTA impact.’
‘He sent it when he was driving?’
‘Witnesses say he was being pursued at speed by another vehicle.’
