He nodded.
Brodie, realizing he’d shot the place to shit, asked, “Are you producing the plague organism here?”
The man shook his head. “This is not—We are collecting data, analyzing samples, to understand how it works.”
“How it kills,” said Brodie.
Stellmacher did not respond.
Brodie said, “Give me your ID.”
Stellmacher dug in his pocket for his wallet and handed Brodie his driver’s license.
Brodie checked it, then put it in his coat pocket. He spotted a landline telephone on a nearby desk and picked up the receiver. No dial tone. Brodie pressed the space bar on a desktop computer to wake it up.
Stellmacher informed him, “No phone. No Internet. Someone turned them off.”
Brodie noticed a small television on the desk and punched the power button. It turned on and displayed a German news channel. Weather report. Brodie raised his rifle again at Stellmacher. “What is happening in two hours?”
Stellmacher raised his hands defensively. “What?”
“Two hours! Answer me!”
“I don’t know!”
“Do you want to die, Tomas?”
The man started crying. “Bitte. Ich weiß nichts! Ich weiß gar nichts!”
Brodie eyed the locked door. It was possible that he and Taylor had killed everyone down here other than Stellmacher. But it was also possible that more armed men were on their way. They had to get out of there, and fast.
Taylor asked the man, “Do you know Charles Granger?”
Stellmacher got hold of himself and looked at Taylor. He nodded.
“Have you seen him?”
“Ja. He—It was, maybe it was six hours ago.”
“He washere?”
Stellmacher nodded again. “He came to see Dr. Hausner.”
She asked, “Who is that?”
“The chief genetic engineer. He comes to check our data sometimes.”
“What were Hausner and Granger talking about?”
Stellmacher shook his head. “They do not involve me in these things.”
“What things?”
“Anything. I collect and analyze data. That is all.”
Brodie moved toward him. “Did you hear Granger sayanything?”
Stellmacher looked desperate. “Just ‘hello’ and ‘good-bye’ when he comes and leaves.” He thought of something. “Colonel Granger said to Dr. Hausner, ‘I will see you later.’?” He added, “?‘In the field. I will see you later in the field.’?”
