A chill shot from the soles of Dr. Jenner's feet straight to the top of his head.
"A car accident," he repeated dryly.
"The police report said the roads were slick from the rain and the brakes failed." Martin finished cleaning his glasses and put them back on. "But Richard hated driving in the rain.
"He always said wet roads made him anxious. And... he'd just taken that car in for a complete inspection the week before."
The two looked at each other.
"You think someone silenced him," Dr. Jenner said with certainty.
"At the time, I honestly thought it was just a tragic coincidence." Martin's expression grew complicated. "But now, when you put all the pieces together...
"Richard saw something at Oak Ridge that he wasn't supposed to see. It made him uneasy. He wanted to talk to someone, and then, just before the virus outbreak swept the world, he and his family died in an 'accident.'"
Martin leaned a little closer and took a deep breath. "Dr. Jenner, what exactly are you investigating? Don't tell me this is just about 'old university research data.'
"You've asked me about neurotoxins, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Richard... Do you know more than you're telling me?"
Dr. Jenner opened his mouth.
He should have lied. He should have brushed Martin off with the excuse he had prepared beforehand.
Martin was still a newcomer, after all. Under Calista's orders, he was not supposed to have access to classified information concerning the Wildfire virus or the Black Fire Project.
But when Jenner saw that familiar look in Martin's eyes, a scholar's determination to uncover the truth, mixed with the deeper pain of losing a friend, he changed his mind.
"I need you to come with me and see the Commander." Jenner abruptly changed course. "Now."
...
The door to Rock Fortress's underground laboratory opened once again.
After listening to Dr. Jenner's report, Calista remained silent for a full minute.
She stood with her back to the three people in the room: Dr. Jenner, Martin, and Milton.
Finally, Calista spoke. "You said the accident report listed two victims. What about Richard's wife?"
Martin stood in the middle of the room with his hands clasped tightly in front of him. "Actually, Richard and his wife were divorced. They had two daughters.
"His wife was French and went back to France with their younger daughter. So only the older daughter stayed in the U.S. with Richard..."
Calista turned around, her expression serious. "Dr. Sorensen, thank you for being honest. But I need to confirm a few things.
"First, did Professor Worth ever mention any specific technical details about the 'Silence' project? Even a single technical term?"
Martin closed his eyes and searched his memory carefully. "He mentioned something once... He said the 'Silence' team was discussing ways to use specific frequencies to increase a virus's ability to penetrate the nervous system and achieve control over the human body. At the time, I assumed they were developing a new kind of anesthetic."
Calista looked at Dr. Jenner.
He immediately pulled up the Black Fire Project files and began searching.
A few seconds later, Jenner found an entry.
"Project branch... Objective: increase the targeting efficiency of biological toxins against specific neural clusters through sound waves or light pulses at specific frequencies."
"It matches." Jenner nodded to Calista, his voice low.
"Second," Calista continued. "Professor Worth said in his email that 'some things were keeping him awake at night.' Did he ever hint at what he meant? Even metaphorically?"
Martin shook his head. "The email was very short. It only said, 'There are some things I saw at Oak Ridge that I need to talk to someone about.' But I remember..."
He paused and frowned. "There was a strange postscript at the end. He wrote, 'Remember that Pandora's box we talked about? The box may have been opened a long time ago.'"
"Third, was there anyone else at UTK or Oak Ridge who might have had access to this kind of information? Anyone who might still be alive?"
Martin gave a bitter smile. "Commander, if the U.S. military really was killing people to keep them quiet, do you think they would leave witnesses behind? Richard may simply have been... too careless. He said the wrong thing at the wrong time."
"Or," Jenner interjected gravely, "he saw too much."
The room fell silent again.
Calista made her decision.
"Dr. Sorensen, from now on, you'll remain part of the research team.
"Your public position will still be chief scientist at the chemical plant, responsible for fuel and pharmaceutical research. In addition, you'll continue assisting Dr. Jenner and Milton with the walker repellent.
"Certain information will also be partially opened to you..."
Martin's breathing quickened. "Commander, you have information connected to Richard's death?"
"Yes! And right now, you're the only person we have who knows Oak Ridge's internal layout and its exact location." Calista stepped closer and looked up at the elderly professor.
"The walker outbreak happened. The world collapsed. Your friend and his family may have been killed to silence him, and this entire world was destroyed by the people who 'opened the box.'
"Don't you want to know the truth? Don't you want the people responsible to pay for what they did?"
Martin's eyes glistened behind his glasses. He took them off and rubbed his eyes hard, his shoulders trembling slightly.
"I do!" he said, his voice choking. "Every night, I think about how much better it would be if the world had never become like this..."
"Then join us!" Calista handed him a tablet. "This is the research team's preliminary framework.
"Your clearance is Tier 3. You'll have access to most of the biochemical data, but the core logs of the Black Fire Project will remain restricted for now."
Martin accepted the tablet.
"Dr. Jenner, Milton, Professor Sorensen," Calista said, emphasizing each name, "the Black Fire Project branch at Oak Ridge should be the 'Silence' project.
"We need to find out exactly how far they had progressed before the full-scale viral outbreak. That will tell us how mature their technology was, and what we may end up facing in the future."
"Understood."
"By the way, Professor Sorensen." Calista suddenly thought of something. "Did Professor Worth stay in close contact with his ex-wife and younger daughter? Could he have talked to them about any of this?"
Calista knew plenty of divorced couples here managed to remain friends afterward, so she asked on a whim without expecting much.
"I don't know exactly what their relationship was like. But I do remember Richard saying that, of his two daughters, the younger one took after him more in terms of her interests. I think she studied biochemistry or pathology and worked for a biotech company in France.
"If he needed someone to talk to, then aside from me, since we had both worked on research at Oak Ridge, he may have spoken to his daughter as well. Their fields were related, after all."
A French biotech company?
"Which company???"
Martin clearly had not expected Calista to suddenly become so interested. He stumbled over his words. "Uh, I think it was... um, forgive me, I'm getting old and my memory isn't what it used to be. I think... I think it was called Firework?"
Firework?
Spark!!!
Silas Norton's company!
Calista felt like her brain could barely keep up. "Can you remember anything else about the younger daughter? Anything at all!"
Martin closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his clasped hands. "Ashley... Her name is Ashley Worth.
"I never met her, but Richard used a picture of both daughters as his phone wallpaper. I remember the younger one had brown hair cut in a bob and light brown eyes.
"Oh, and she was a little older than you. If she's still alive, she should be around twenty-seven now."
A girl with a brown bob.
Calista could not shake the feeling that she had seen her somewhere before.