Free Separation by J.S. Frankel Page B

to
satiate his hunger pangs. He was famished and tore through the
simple meal of bread, meat and cheese, while Anastasia ate twice as
much and three times as fast.
    “I’m hungry,” she mumbled as she stuffed in
half a loaf of bread. “I need to eat. If I don’t eat, I get
dizzy.”
    She’d never gotten dizzy before, but fine,
foreign travel could make anyone hungry or feel unsettled. She
could eat all she wanted, Harry thought, but the main problem
remained of who the mystery man was in all this. Leo was sleeping
in another chamber, so the question of the voice with an American
accent arose. Harry asked, “Did you get a name?”
    Istvan nodded. “I hear the name Allenby. I do
not know of him.”
    Harry didn’t, either. “I need to send a
message.”
    “You will have to go to the surface,” Carlo
interrupted as he made his way into the chamber. He walked over and
pointed at the ceiling. “The reception down here is non-existent.
Follow me.”
    They snaked their way through the narrow
waterway, always taking care to step lightly. The faintest sound
echoed sharply off the walls, and Harry’s sense of paranoia grew
with every step he took.
    Finally, they reached the surface, and Carlo
pushed the grate off, poking his head out of the hole and swiveling
it left and right. With a quick wave of his hand, he motioned
upwards. “I will keep watch,” he said. “Please hurry.”
    Duly noted, and Harry clambered out of the
sewer. Sitting on the concrete, he quickly typed Jason, Maze...
find out what you can about a person named Allenby.
    The reply came back in less than a minute. This is Maze. Lots of Allenby’s in the registry. Can you narrow
it down?
    Harry licked his lips as he searched his
memory for a possible link. A name floated up. It was a slim lead
at best... and it all had to do with a company. Check on Applied
Scientific Research.
    Applied Scientific Research—ASR for short—had
once been affiliated with the FBI. They’d wanted certain secrets in
order to further medical research to be used to cure cancer and
leukemia, in addition to other life-threatening diseases.
    After a number of incidents had occurred,
incidents meaning some other transgenic creations had wreaked havoc
all over New York, the FBI had cut ties with them. More than
likely, ASR hadn’t been very happy about it, and Harry had the
hunch they were behind all of this recent mayhem... maybe.
    The reply came back two minutes later. Got
it Maze wrote. Horace Allenby, former director of ASR.
Genetics researcher... founder of ASR... missing since August of
2014 and presumed dead...
    Doubtful on the dead part, thought Harry.
Theory or not, he had a hunch Allenby had faked his demise and had
gotten the Genesis Chambers up and running years back. How he’d
gotten the technology remained a mystery, though.
    Another thought, one closer to home, rang in
Harry’s mind, and he asked Maze if she’d heard from Overton. This
time, Jason replied. Yeah, he called us on a secure line from
some hospital in Italy. He said he got the order from Farrell to
return. He’s coming back soon. Are you guys in trouble?
    Yes.
    Oh crap...
    We’ll be okay Harry hurriedly typed
out after receiving Carlo’s worried glance and gesture indicating
they return to the sewers. I’ll contact you when I can.
    Logging off, he thought briefly of his mentor
in the hospital, and then sequestered that thought away. He’d meet
Farrell later on and hoped his mentor would last until he returned.
As he and his guide made their way back to the main chamber, Harry
asked, “What’s the plan?”
    Carlo offered a brief shrug and put a finger
to his lips. “Keep your voice low. We are not sure if someone is
listening.”
    Harry nodded. Security had to be paramount
down there... and he still wasn’t sure the church was totally on
their side. They were under the largest and most powerful religious
institution in the world. The thought of being trapped down there
was a most unsettling