Page 14 of Craved

Killion waved away Maxim’s words. “Later. Right now, we have a different focus.”

“Do you wish me to cancel my plans?”

“No, no. I only want to share this one tidbit with you, then you can go enjoy your evening. Tomorrow we will approach the project with renewed gusto. Tonight, I’ll be working on plans for carrying out Phase Two. We must move forward with a plan that achieves the most impact.”

“Tonight?” That was something he wanted to stay for, but he wasn’t about to miss the meeting with Cami. That was pressing, too.

Very pressing.

He cleared his throat. “You’ve been working around the clock. Don’t you think you should rest tonight? Celebrate at home, then get some sleep?” He still had no idea what the celebration was for, but he knew Killion’s moods well enough to know the man was very, very pleased. That alone was enough to worry Maxim. If Killion moved too fast…

“Sleep,” Killion repeated, then chuckled. “For now. Perhaps that will be our next project. Imagine how high we could rise if it wasn’t necessary to waste those hours. It’s something to think about.”

Maxim nodded. Yes, the boss was in a remarkably good mood, and he couldn’t help but wonder why. Surely it was more than the upcoming completion of Phase One, which Killion liked to refer to as Delivery Day, or “D-Day” for short.

As for Phase Two…

Killion still hadn’t shared the details. Only that it would be the final test and proof of the weapon. Small scale, yes. But large enough for world leaders to understand how scalable—and deadly—it was. And to fall in line accordingly.

As for the weapon itself, it was scalable tech, able to wipe out an individual or a population. Maxim wasn’t a scientist, but he understood the basics well enough, and there was no denying that the tech was impressive.

It required the delivery of a modified bacteriophage—which could be set loose in a population through the water supply or in an individual via a drink or an injection. Once in the host/victim, the bacteriophage—a type of virus that infects bacteria—would attach to the human host’s gut microbiome, or any other targeted cell. There, thanks to genetic engineering, the bacteriophage would remain dormant until activated by a specific RF signal. Once that happened, the engineered bacteriophage would edit the DNA of the host bacteria to cause it to produce toxins.

Those toxins, of course, would cause death. Immediate, painful, bloody death.

Despite being Killion’s second, all Maxim knew was that it would take place in the city…and in less than one hundred hours. It was frustrating as hell not to be in that inner circle, but Killion was his own damn circle. And the only control that Maxim had was to keep doing his job in the hopes that Killion would trust him enough to share the details of Phase One’s implementation.

“Anything I need to know about?” Killion demanded, his tone turning businesslike.

Maxim stood up straighter. “Not a thing, sir.” He didn’t mention the possible blond complication who’d just arrived in town. That he would take care of himself. “Everything’s on target,” he added.

“It certainly is,” Killion said, his smile growing wider in the kind of way that made Maxim very, very nervous. Killion was rash and unpredictable. And rash and unpredictable people tended to abandon vetted plans in favor of foolish, unpredictable actions.

The television snapped on, the screen displaying CNN. Killion made no move to change the channel.

“What are we waiting for?” Maxim asked.

“No scroll bar. No breaking news.” The smile widened. “They don’t realize yet. Good.”

“What don’t they realize?”

“The cause of Senator Alice Crowley’s death.”

Maxim worked to keep the fury off his face. “We talked about this. I thought you were going to wait until our full demonstration. We agreed that this kind of personalized targeting could put the entire project at risk.”

Killion spread his hands. “What can I say? I got antsy.”

“Sir…” Dammit, dammit, dammit.

“Just one woman. Just one little gnat in a world full of little gnats. And no one other than you and I have even the slightest clue that her demise wasn’t entirely the result of a truly nasty bacteria she was exposed to during one of her humanitarian missions.” He shrugged. “These things happen, you know. The water in underdeveloped nations can present all sorts of health concerns.”

Maxim forced a smile. “Yes. It certainly can.”

“There now, you see. No need for the two of us to be at odds. You’re my good right hand, Maxim. You know that.”

“Apparently, you used your left hand to work that stunt.” He said the words mildly, and as he expected, Killion chuckled.

“Touché. But we both know the bitch deserved it. She was growing far too powerful. But I shall refrain from smiting any more enemies. You have my word. After all, as you said, time grows short and there’s still much to do.”