Free The Hades Factor by Robert Ludlum; Gayle Lynds Page A

explain. Loneliness?

He dialed again. The voice that answered was all business, which was reassuring, particularly considering the circumstances: “United States Army, Fort Detrick. Security.”

“This is Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith, USAMRIID.”

“Base ID, Colonel?”

He gave his number.

There was a pause. “Thank you, Colonel. How can we help you?”

“Connect me to the desk guard at USAMRIID.”

Clicks, beeps, and a new voice. “USAMRIID. Security. Grasso.”

“Grasso, Jon Smith. Listen---”

“Hey, Colonel, you're back. Everything okay? Doc Russell's been askin'---”

“I'm fine, Grasso. It's Dr. Russell I'm calling about. She's not answering her phone. You know where she is?”

“She's on the night list I got when I came on, and I ain't seen her leave.”

“What time did you come on?”

“Midnight. She's probably in the lab and not hearing nothing.”

Smith glanced at his watch: 4:42 A.M.

“Could you go up and check?”

“Sure, Colonel. Call you back.”

Smith recited the phone number. Every second seemed like a minute, and every minute it was harder to breathe. The cool night seemed stifling. The phone booth suffocated him.

When the phone rang at last, he almost jumped. “Yes?”

“Not there, Colonel. Office and lab are both closed up.”

“Any sign of trouble?”

“Nope. Everything's packed away and covered up.” Grasso sounded a little defensive. “Damned if I know how I missed her. I guess she could've gone out one of the other exits. You could check with the gate guard.”

“Thanks, Grasso. You want to transfer me?”

“Hold on, Doc.”

A different and very sleepy voice spoke: “Fort Detrick. Gate. Schroeder.” “This is Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith, USAMRIID. Did Dr. Sophia Russell leave the base tonight, Schroeder?”

“Don't know, Colonel. Don't know Dr. Russell. Try the guy at USAMRIID.”

Smith swore under his breath. The civilian security guards were always changing, and they worked longer shifts than MPs. It was not unknown for them to doze in the gate kiosk. The barrier would stop any cars trying to enter, and if it did not, the noise would certainly wake them up. But no barrier stopped cars leaving.

He hung up. It sounded as if she could have been too tired to drive all the way to Thurmont. Which meant she was likely at her old condo in Frederick, which she had just sold but had not yet fully moved out of. He could call the condo, but that would tell him nothing. When they worked around the clock, they always turned off their phone's ringer to get a few hours sleep.

As he sped the car away, his mind raced. She had been so tired she left the lab through one of the side doors, not wanting to run into anyone. That was logical. Just what she would have done. The gate guard had missed her, probably asleep. She would go to her condo. He would slip into bed beside her. She would sense his presence without waking up. She would smile in her sleep, murmur, and move close to touch him. Her hip would press warm against him. He would smile, kiss her shoulder lightly, watch her sleep before he fell asleep himself. He would . . .

__________

Few guidebooks listed Fort Detrick as one of the attractions to the historic City of Frederick. With its chain-link fence and guard post at the entrance, Detrick was a medium-secure army base set in the middle of a residential area. Sophia's condo was five blocks away. Parked up the street again, Smith saw no signs of anyone watching here. He stepped from the Triumph, closed the door softly, and listened. He heard the distant coughs of sleepers. The occasional laughter or a voice raised in drunken anger. A solitary car squealing around a turn. The constant low hum that was the city itself.

But no clandestine sounds or movements he could identify as threatening.

He used his key to the lobby of the three-story condo building and strode across the exposed expanse of the tile and carpet to the elevators. All were empty at this hour.

On the