Blood Money Read Online Free Page B

question.
    “That’s right.”
    Kelton wasn’t surprised. He’d done a few
jobs for Walter over the years and they’d invariably had something
to do with taking something from the government.
    “So, what did Jessica do to land herself in
custody with the Feds?”
    “Oh, nothing special,” Walter said. “She
just created a vaccine for the AIDS virus and had the nerve to
suggest it should be distributed to people that could actually use
it.”
    Kelton’s eyes widened slightly. “Are you
serious?”
    Walter nodded. “She was working for a
government-funded company when she came up with it. Once it became
apparent her handlers were going to suppress the vaccine, I
contacted her about helping her get her findings out into the
public sector. After trading emails for about a week, I was able to
convince her that I could help. We set up a face-to-face meeting
for yesterday morning. Unfortunately, she never made it. Her
handlers caught wind of our plan and she was picked up in
transit.”
    “How did they figure out what was going
on?”
    “I’m not sure,” Walter said. “I assume they
intercepted one of her emails. Last I heard from her, she was
leaving the compound, a couple of hours before our meeting.
Obviously, she never made it. I found out a short time later what
had happened.”
    “Where was she taken after they picked her
up?”
    “A place up near Mammoth Mountain. It used
to be a federal safe house, but it hasn’t been in the rotation for
a couple of years. Only a select few people even know it still
exists in the system.”
    “Yet you managed to find out.”
    Walter shrugged. “As you know from prior
experience, I have excellent sources within our government.”
    Kelton knew all right. He had seen ample
evidence of Walter’s sources during his prior dealings with the old
man. Walter always seemed to have access to whatever information he
needed, no matter how well protected it was.
    “Who’s in charge of the operation?” Kelton
said.
    “They brought in someone from the Justice
Department to handle the questioning, but security is being taken
care of by some FBI guys from a local office. For the most part,
it’s pretty relaxed. Because this particular safe house has been
out of rotation for so long, it isn’t equipped with much by way of
technology. It’s got a couple of very minor things, but it relies
mostly on anonymity and remote location for protection.”
    Kelton thought about this for a moment. The
lack of significant technological deterrents certainly would make
things far less difficult. But the question then became: “Why’d
they take her there instead of someplace more secure?”
    “They needed something last minute and it
was free right away.”
    “But why a safe house?” Kelton said. “Why
not a federal building, someplace official?”
    “Because they’re not sure what to do with
her yet,” Walter said. “They’re trying to keep the situation quiet
for now, until they decide on a course of action. They figured
there are too many eyes at a federal building. Too many
opportunities for leakage.”
    Kelton snorted.
    Walter laughed. “Yeah, if they only
knew.”
    “So, based on what you’ve told me so far,
I’m guessing we’re looking at a fairly tight time frame.”
    “I’d say she’s got no more than 48 hours at
her current location. After that, she’ll undoubtedly be taken to a
site with better protection.”
    “Forty-eight hours? That’s a pretty tight
window.”
    “What can I say? That’s all we have to work
with.”
    “I assume you have specs on the house and
the surrounding area?”
    “I’ve got it all,” Walter said. “Floor plan,
alarm schematics, door codes, aerial photos—everything you need to
be successful.”
    “All right,” Kelton said. “Let me take a
look at it all, see if this thing is even possible.”
    “I assure you it is.”
    “I’ll make that determination if you don’t
mind.”
    “Fine, but there’s not much time to make up
you