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He filled the spaces with ink and shadoith the teeth and groith the pound of pad on hard ground He saas co

SECOND

8

September 6, 12:05 PM

48,000 feet over the Caspian Sea

Two hours until touchdown

Gray stared out the s of the Bombardier Global Express XRS The day wore rapidly onward as the private jet streaked across the sky During the course of their journey, the sun had risen on a new day, cliain behind the at a squeak over supersonic speeds The ma by the billionaire aeronautics financier Ryder Blunt for past services rendered Two US Air Force pilots pushed the engines to get them to India by midafternoon local tiroup assembled around a teak table He had allowed everyone to sleep for six hours, but most looked exhausted Kowalski still had his chair reclined flat, snoring in tiines Gray saw no reason to disturb him They all could use more sleep

Focused on the dossier in front of her, the only person who showed no weariness was the newcoy and neurochemistry, the same disciplines as Archibald Polk, it was no wonder Painter had assigned this ma to join their band

Dr Shay Rosauro was a little over average height, her complexion a cinnaold and a fierce intelligence Her shoulder-length black hair was bound back from her face with a black bandanna She had served in the air force, and from her records, she could have piloted the Bombardier herself She even wore a uniform blouse top with a wide black belt over khakis and boots

And while Gray had never worked with her before, it seemed she had e iven her a bear hug of a greeting, then passed to climb into the plane As she followed, she had stared back at Gray with an expression that read you’ve got to be kidding

With everyone rested, Gray wanted to get his teae by the tiard to who "Elizabeth, what can you tell us about Dr Hayden Masterson? In what capacity was your father working with this professor from Mumbai?"

She nodded, stifled a yaith a fist, then inally froist, specializing in meditative techniques and brain function He’s been in India for the past thirty years, studying the country’s yogis and mystics"

"A line of research parallel to your father’s"

Elizabeth nodded

"I know of Masterson’s work," Rosauro said with mild surprise "He’s brilliant, but eccentric, and some of his theories are contentious He was one of the first researchers to advocate for the plasticity of the human brain, controversial at the time but now readily accepted"

"What do you mean by plasticity?" Gray asked

"Well, until the past few years, neurology stuck by an old tenet that the human brain was hardwired, that each section of the brain served one purpose only One location, one function For the last two decades, neurology’s goal has been to map out what each part of the brain does Where speech rises fro, which neurons make you feel your left hand, or control balance"

Gray nodded

"But noe understand that the brain is not hardwired, that these brain eable, alterable Or in other words, plastic It is such fluidity of function that explains how ain function of paralyzed limbs after a portion of their brains are destroyed The brain rewires itself around the da his research to studies with yogis Through such mystics’ abilities to control their own ht to sho the brain is not only changeable--but trainable That the brain’s plasticity is moldable"

Rosauro leaned back "With the possibilities of harnessing this plasticity, it’s a Brave New World out there for neurologists Increasing intelligence, helping the blind to see, the deaf to hear"

Gray pictured the device found on the skull The deaf to hear The device had looked like some form of cochlear implant

Gray asked Elizabeth, "Did Dr Masterson say when he last saw your father?"

"The professor said he’d tell me more, but he first wanted to talk to the people who had hiredelse out of hiroup, spoke, his Romani accent thicker from his exhaustion "That would be our clan We hired Dr Polk"

Gray turned to the , Gray had intended to discuss the role of the Gypsies in Dr Polk’s story Much had been left unanswered after their flight from the safe house Such as, why Polk had chosen to contact Luca rather than anyone else? Had it been paranoia? Had the professor believed he could trust no one else? Considering his ents of his own governet involved with the professor?" Gray asked

"He approached us two years ago He wanted to collect DNA samples from certain members of our clans Those who practiced pen dukkerin"

"Pen what?"

Kowalski answered fro, but his eyes were still closed as he spoke "Dukkerin Fortune-telling You know, palle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>