Page 65 of Mastermind

“I’m shaking my head because I see his point,” Gerald replies. He stands. “I’m out. Jessica, best of luck. Have fun ending the world in Estonia with Dr. Strangelove here.”

“It may not be Estonia. That’s the other thing,” I reply.

“Don’t care,” he says as he exits, leaving Jessica and me in the conference room.

She rocks back in her chair and swivels in my direction, I assume assessing what just happened. She finally nods. “Clever, Theo. Very clever. I think I get you. You managed to clear the room yet still got us what we want. You’ve got the mad-scientist part down pat.”

Er . . . do I tell her it wasn’t an act?

“You have to use what tools you have,” I reply.

“Okay, enough with the Estonia-and-aliens nonsense. What are you really up to?”

“Estonia was just a cover. And the aliens thing was just a joke.”

“That’s a relief,” she replies.

“Yeah. We need to go to Chernobyl . . . to look for radioactive zombies.”

Her hands go to her forehead, and she lets out an exasperated sigh. This may be the closest I’ve seen her to tears. “And why?” she asks in a strained voice.

I take the one item I didn’t set on the table and place it in front of her. She picks up the burned piece of green plastic and examines it.

“Is that Cyrillic?” she asks, pointing at the Russian wording.

“Yes. I pulled it from the fire pit back in Thailand when you were distracting the general. It’s a prepackaged syringe wrapper.”

“Made in Russia?” she replies.

“Or Ukraine. Either way, they were trying to destroy this. Leaving behind the chimps didn’t matter as much as this and whatever else was in that fire pit.”

“Why is that?”

“Because there’s a second facility. One that may still be active. But with human subjects.”

“And why Chernobyl?” she asks, inspecting the paper more closely.

“Because that wrapper’s radioactive.”

Jessica drops it on the table and looks at her hands.

“Not that radioactive. But enough to measure. Remember when I talked to the Thai firefighters?”

“About disposing of the chimp bodies?”

I slap my forehead. “I forgot to tell them that part. Actually, I asked to use their Geiger counter. Fire departments carry them in case they have to go into hospitals or other facilities that have radioactive materials.”

“And that made you think Chernobyl?”

“Indirectly. We know there are a number of research facilities in that part of Ukraine that are used for secret research because of its isolation yet relative proximity to major cities. Also, your Weird File,” I add.

“Oh.” Jessica thinks for a moment. “The zombie sightings outside Kiev?”

“Yes. Read one way, it sounds like science fiction, but in the context of a poorly run secret facility that may have had drugged-up, unwell people escaping, it kind of makes sense. And there’s the fact that I was able to trace the number Jack gave us to another number in Kiev.”

Jessica glances up at the ceiling and runs her fingers through her hair. It’s quite nice hair, I realize for the first time. It reminds me of a raven’s feathers.

“Theo. How does Jillian put up with you?” she asks.