Chapter 28

Nemesis waited what he felt was more than the appropriate length of time and (almost exactly at nightfall) he again tuned his device to '01'. ''We'll begin our next phase now,'' he commanded. ''Demand to be released from the hospital. They have no cause to keep you there; your foot will heal just as well at your desk as it will in that bed. You have the authority; use it! Then meet me in the rear parking lot at OSI-Los Angeles in exactly one hour.''

He leaned back in his chair and took a few sips of his finest brandy. Things were truly about to start happening now. He backed the green van out of the garage, met his cohorts and exchanged vehicles...then headed for the West Coast office of the OSI. Nemesis had felt no need to check on his hostage; Oscar wouldn't be going anywhere.


Steve poured urgently over the lists he'd requested. He'd had no idea there would be so many pages...so many possibilities. He used highlighter pens in two colors to isolate the rentals within 20 miles...and within 10...and handed the pages to Lynda, asking for three separate lists. As soon as he had them in hand, Steve ran off copies of all three lists and gave them to Security. ''See that my teams get these - and only my teams,'' he instructed. ''Have them start with the closest list and work their way out through the radius.''

''Will do, Colonel.''

Completely spent, Steve rang for a nurse and received another pain shot - then he stretched out on the pull-out sofabed in Rudy's office (with his datacom and the phone by his side) and dozed fitfully while he waited for word.


Mark Conrad had remained with Jaime (as he'd promised Steve he would), and just after dinnertime she tossed restlessly, woke with a start...and tried to sit up in bed. ''Easy there,'' he crooned. ''You still need to be lying flat.''

''Did they find him yet?'' Jaime asked.

''No. I'm sorry...not yet. But they've intensified the search. Hopefully it won't be long now. How do you feel? Any bad dreams?''

''I don't...think so. And I just feel...weak. I hate feeling weak...''

''I know you do. But you'll be stronger again before you know it; you've already made remarkable progress,'' Mark told her. ''And you gave them the first real break - the first clue they have - to help find Oscar. I know how hard it must've been, remembering that - and putting it out there in words made it more real...didn't it?''

''It sure did.''

''Well, you did a great job,'' Mark affirmed.

''I wanted...I still want...to help - and that's the only way I could.''

''Probably the best help of all. And you know what your 'job' is now...don't you?''

Jaime nodded. ''Rest, rest - and then more rest,'' she said (parroting what Michael had told her at least half a dozen times).


Nemesis checked his watch again. Russ was nearly half an hour late; something had clearly gone wrong...but how? The injury to his foot (however aggravated it might have become) shouldn't have stopped him. The only things he could even imagine interrupting his commands might be a concussive blow to the head...or the death of his subject. But it was no matter. He would just have to ramp up his preparations with Subject '02'.


Jack Hansen was following his own lead. One of his teams had discovered an abandoned green van, with several varied lengths of rope in the back. While they ran the plate, the inside was tested for traces of blood...and chloroform. Both tests proved negative - but the plate came back as registered to one of the men currently being held in the NSB's 'Hole'.

''Keep at him until he talks,'' Hansen ordered. ''Use whatever means necessary, but keep him conscious...and find out where Goldman is being held!'' He had already arranged for the use of two types of bombs: a small, concentrated device that would destroy its target with only minimal damage to surrounding houses (should Oscar be found in a residential area) - and a larger, heavier one that would take out everything in its path, if Oscar was being held somewhere more isolated. Either way, Hansen would make sure that Oscar's orders (to find him...and kill him) would be carried out.


When Michael made his rounds (again), Rudy remained sleeping quietly. His vital signs were stable with no signs of any further arrhythmia. Behind the hospital, the Search and Rescue teams were deep in the woods and canvasing the banks of the lake. They never saw the lone man in the baseball cap standing just outside the edge of the trees, hidden by the bushes. Watching through strong binoculars, Nemesis was waiting for exactly the right moment. If the prototype's beam hit the security guards (as well as his target) then so be it. A second blast from the prototype would hopefully blank '02' out even faster...and make him ripe for Nemesis to seize control of his mind.