in architecture.' | 'Let's stick to the briefing, shall we?' Philpott said, eyeing Graham sharply. 'Go on, Sergei.'
'One of those killed during the breakin was the plant's senior scientific adviser, Professor David Wiseman. He'd worked for UNACO in the past as a consultant, which
35
was why we were able to gain access to his personal files within hours of his death. A team of scientists from our Zurich HQ took a complete inventory of his stock but found only one item missing. A vial encased in a metal cylinder identical to this one I got from the Test Centre.'
Sabrina took the metal cylinder from Kolchinsky and turned it around in her fingers. 'And nothing else was taken from any of the other laboratories?'
'All the other laboratories were still locked when our people got there. No, the terrorists knew exactly what they wanted and where to find it.'
'What was in the vial?' Graham asked, taking the metal fi; cylinder from Sabrina.
'I'm coming to that.' Kolchinsky lit another cigarette and dropped the match into the ashtray on Philpott's desk. 'According to the files Wiseman kept in his personal safe he had been working on two projects that hadn't been sanctioned by the company. One was to procure a quantity of sleeping gas for the Rome cell of the Red Brigades.'
'And was the Rome cell behind the breakin?' Sabrina asked.
'Yes,' Kolchinsky replied. 'The second project involved viruses. Six months ago he set out to develop a highly contagious recombinant DNA virus which could poten-j tially kill millions of people if it were ever released into the atmosphere. He completed his work on it a fortnight j ago.'
Sabrina sat forward, her arms resting on her knees.] 'And the Red Brigades took the wrong vial?'
Kolchinsky nodded grimly. 'Both were stored in met all cylinders. The only way of telling them apart was by their J different serial numbers. The vial containing the sleeping! gas was found in Wiseman's office.'
'What about the antidote?' Sabrina asked.
36
'He was still working on it at the time of his death,' Philpott replied.
'But surely if all his work's been documented then our boffins can come up with an antidote themselves?' Graham said, handing the metal cylinder back to Kolchinsky.
'I don't know how much you know about recombination, Michael, but basically it needs the genes of two virus strains to conjugate for it to be successful. An antidote can only be developed if both strains of the virus are known. In this case both strains were artificially created in his laboratory. He referred to them throughout his files simply as 'alpha' and 'beta'. He was the only person who knew what they were.'
'And now he's dead,' Sabrina muttered, rubbing her hands over her face.
'What if the sleeping gas was just a red herring and the virus was destined for the Red Brigades all along?' Graham said.
'That was my theory, until this arrived on my desk.'
Philpott removed a telex from the folder in front of him.
'It's a transcript of a taped message the Italian government
I received earlier this morning. The voice has been identified
| as Riccardo Ubrino, one of Rome's senior Brigatisti. He's
threatened to open the vial at ten o'clock on Thursday
morning unless he sees a live telecast of Rome's jailed
brigade chief, Lino Zocchi, being put on an aeroplane
bound for Cuba. What is significant, though, is that he
refers to the contents of the vial as "sleeping gas". Why
ntinue the pretence knowing that the authorities will
we already discovered the truth, unless he genuinely
iieves he has the sleeping gas?'
'I don't get it, sir,' Sabrina said, frowning. 'Have we n called in because the Italian government won't com with his demands?'
37
'We've been called in because the Italian government can't comply with his demands. Zocchi's dead. He was shot by an unknown gunman an hour after the government received the tape. The authorities have instigated an immediate news blackout on Zocchi's death. The prison itself has been
'One of those killed during the breakin was the plant's senior scientific adviser, Professor David Wiseman. He'd worked for UNACO in the past as a consultant, which
35
was why we were able to gain access to his personal files within hours of his death. A team of scientists from our Zurich HQ took a complete inventory of his stock but found only one item missing. A vial encased in a metal cylinder identical to this one I got from the Test Centre.'
Sabrina took the metal cylinder from Kolchinsky and turned it around in her fingers. 'And nothing else was taken from any of the other laboratories?'
'All the other laboratories were still locked when our people got there. No, the terrorists knew exactly what they wanted and where to find it.'
'What was in the vial?' Graham asked, taking the metal fi; cylinder from Sabrina.
'I'm coming to that.' Kolchinsky lit another cigarette and dropped the match into the ashtray on Philpott's desk. 'According to the files Wiseman kept in his personal safe he had been working on two projects that hadn't been sanctioned by the company. One was to procure a quantity of sleeping gas for the Rome cell of the Red Brigades.'
'And was the Rome cell behind the breakin?' Sabrina asked.
'Yes,' Kolchinsky replied. 'The second project involved viruses. Six months ago he set out to develop a highly contagious recombinant DNA virus which could poten-j tially kill millions of people if it were ever released into the atmosphere. He completed his work on it a fortnight j ago.'
Sabrina sat forward, her arms resting on her knees.] 'And the Red Brigades took the wrong vial?'
Kolchinsky nodded grimly. 'Both were stored in met all cylinders. The only way of telling them apart was by their J different serial numbers. The vial containing the sleeping! gas was found in Wiseman's office.'
'What about the antidote?' Sabrina asked.
36
'He was still working on it at the time of his death,' Philpott replied.
'But surely if all his work's been documented then our boffins can come up with an antidote themselves?' Graham said, handing the metal cylinder back to Kolchinsky.
'I don't know how much you know about recombination, Michael, but basically it needs the genes of two virus strains to conjugate for it to be successful. An antidote can only be developed if both strains of the virus are known. In this case both strains were artificially created in his laboratory. He referred to them throughout his files simply as 'alpha' and 'beta'. He was the only person who knew what they were.'
'And now he's dead,' Sabrina muttered, rubbing her hands over her face.
'What if the sleeping gas was just a red herring and the virus was destined for the Red Brigades all along?' Graham said.
'That was my theory, until this arrived on my desk.'
Philpott removed a telex from the folder in front of him.
'It's a transcript of a taped message the Italian government
I received earlier this morning. The voice has been identified
| as Riccardo Ubrino, one of Rome's senior Brigatisti. He's
threatened to open the vial at ten o'clock on Thursday
morning unless he sees a live telecast of Rome's jailed
brigade chief, Lino Zocchi, being put on an aeroplane
bound for Cuba. What is significant, though, is that he
refers to the contents of the vial as "sleeping gas". Why
ntinue the pretence knowing that the authorities will
we already discovered the truth, unless he genuinely
iieves he has the sleeping gas?'
'I don't get it, sir,' Sabrina said, frowning. 'Have we n called in because the Italian government won't com with his demands?'
37
'We've been called in because the Italian government can't comply with his demands. Zocchi's dead. He was shot by an unknown gunman an hour after the government received the tape. The authorities have instigated an immediate news blackout on Zocchi's death. The prison itself has been
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