Free The Assassin's Case by Craig Alexander Page A

eyes.
     

NINE
     
     
     
     
    Colonel Cane didn’t slow the SUV as he arrived at the Biodyne complex. The second vehicle close behind him, he rounded another curve and the complex became visible. He drove on a cleverly disguised paved road which wound its way through the desert. The dirt to either side of the road had been piled up so that it was invisible unless you stumbled across it. The road’s entrance off Route 9 appeared to be nothing more than a dirt track, as a maintenance crew insured sand remained on top of it until well away from the highway.
                  Located in a town built to house the employees of a copper mining and smelting operation, closed four years ago, Biodyne’s operations were virtually invisible. Located south of the dry lake bed known as Playas Lake, the town was nestled in Playas Valley between the natural barriers of Animas Mountain and the Little Hatchet mountain range.
                  There were no fences surrounding the complex, but nothing, not so much as a rabbit or a coyote, entered its border without their knowledge. An elaborate system of sensors and cameras provided perimeter security. Secrets were made to be kept. Unwanted visitors were turned away by men dressed as mine employees. Deadly force would be used if necessary. The project was too important. Security the imperative. The work they were doing here was meant for the protection of the United States. A job Cane long ago dedicated his life to.
                  He drove past a rock outcropping which housed a concealed guard post and stopped before a shoddy plank building, one of many which comprised the small town.
    Cane turned to the man in the passenger’s seat. “Stow the vehicles. Have the team mobilized and in security in an hour. Inform the techies they better come up with something.”
                  Cane stepped out of the vehicle beneath the star littered sky and approached what used to be the mine’s office, turned the knob on the door and entered. Heels echoing on the plank floor he moved to an interior door. After swiping his ID through a scanner, the door slid opened and he passed through. A few steps inside he stopped at a wall which held an elevator entrance. He passed his ID in front an electronic eye and the door slid open.
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Colonel Cane stared across the table at the mole. The traitor. Like everyone else involved in the operation he had passed extensive security checks, yet somehow he slipped through. Cane would find out how in time, but that was of secondary importance at the moment.
                  “Where will the exchange be made?”
                  “I don’t know.”
                  “How is Grant Sawyer involved?”
                  “Who?”
                  Cane leaned his forearms on the table and pressed his teeth together, causing his jaw muscles to bulge, and glared at the man. He knew he looked intimidating. No, he didn’t only look it. This man somehow infiltrated the operation and his organization also somehow compromised Dr. Morgan. Cane still couldn’t imagine how or why. Not only a genius, Morgan had integrity. Oh yes, as head of Security for Biodyne he and Cane had indeed butted heads, but still. Even at the expense of his family, how could Morgan risk allowing his creation to fall into the wrong hands.
                  Cane removed the forty-five automatic from its holster and laid it on the table. “Tell me again.”
                  The man swallowed. He looked like any other computer nerd. Skinny. Glasses. Pale. “I told you, the exchange was supposed to be made at a mall in Gulf Shores. Morgan chose it because he could travel there under the guise of visiting his sister. No one would be suspicious.”
                  “What happened?”
                  “I don’t know, I swear it. I