Page 41 (1/2)

Monk swung the torch in a fiery arc His heart pounded a primal drumbeat that traced back to mankind’s prehistoric roots huddled in dark caves

Still, as he’d hoped, the loud bang of the door drew the second cat It caround, a blur of striped fur and massive paws Monk shoved his torch in the cat’s face as it lunged at him

Fur burned, and the cat screeched and rolled away

Monk caught a gli this one as Zakhar

His brother Arkady howled and charged, defending his littermate

Monk knew the cat intended to bowl into him, torch or not

So Monk hiked his arm back and hurled the fiery brand like a javelin It speared through the air and struck the tiger square in its openin rabbed the knife froed back into the cabin As he turned, froht at hi in terror, Monk sprinted across the s of soot blinded him He ran on instinct The openlay directly opposite the door Blinking tears, he ainst the blurry wall

He dove straight at it, stretching his ared his pant leg Cloth ripped free, but his body jerked His shoulder hit the ’s edge with an ar blow His momentum enabled him to tumble out theHe landed hard with the wind knocked out of hih weeds

Behind him, Zakhar slah which Monk had escaped The iher A howl of raw fury chased Monk back to his feet

He stuht himself, then sprinted away from the cabin toward the water It was that stuton, DC

"Her condition is a foritis," Dr Yuri Raev ad table from the older Russian scientist Dr Raev was flanked by John Mapplethorpe, who Painter recognized frouest, Dr Trent McBride, the supposedly ue of Archibald Polk

It seemed he had been found

Painter had a thousand questions for thehere at the Capital Grille on

Pennsylvania Avenue

had been tightly negotiated across intelligence channels The limit and scope of their discussions had been ironed out Any discussion of Dr Polk was off the table At least for now The only irl

As such, Painter had brought his own experts to the roundtable On his side of the table sat Lisa and Malcolh the validity of the information offered

Across the table, the Russian looked ill at ease He was not the otiated this roundtable The randfather in his rumpled dark suit, but there was a haunted quality to his eyes Painter also read the crinkled concern as he talked about the child The lines on his face had deepened and spread when he glanced through the medical file Lisa had slid across the table Painter suspected the only reason the irl’s life

"Her deterioration is a result of her augment," Yuri continued "We don’t completely understand why The device’s microelectrodes are composed of carbon-platinum nanotubules We believe that the more a subject utilizes their talents, the faster they deteriorate Has Sasha been drahile you’ve had her in your custody?"

Painter remembered all her feverish sketches: the safe house, the Taj Mahal, a picture of Monk He slowly nodded "Exactly what is she doing when she draws?"

Mapplethorpe lifted a hand There was an oiliness to his voice, well suited to slide around the truth "You know that is beyond the scope of discussion here You’re treading on thin ice, Director Crowe"

Yuri spoke over Mapplethorpe’s objection, which Painter found interesting "She is a prodigious savant," he said, ignoring glares from either side "Her natural talents blend keen spatial dynah," Mapplethorpe barked "Or we end irl’s body after she’s dead"

Yuri’s face darkened, but he went silent

Lisa encouraged hi her abilities accelerate Sasha’s deterioration?"

Yuri spoke softly, with a trace of guilt "When stiins to leak"

Malcolm stirred "What do you mean by ‘leak’?"

"Our researchers believe that nanoparticles break away from the ends of the microelectrodes and contaminate the cerebral spinal fluid"

Lisa stirred "No wonder our cultures caitis wasn’t bacterial or viral, but a contan particles"