Free The Genesis Code by Christopher Forrest

bad.”
    After she had pumped Ebersole for everything useful that he knew about introns and DNA, Flavia had dismissed the socially awkward science correspondent with the vague promise of joining him for a cocktail at some uncertain date in the future. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to keep him on the hook.
    You never know when you might need a favor.
    Flavia wasn’t above granting sexual favors to co-workers to get ahead, but Ebersole was not going to be one of them. The mental image of a naked Ebersole lying on top of her, flailing about, made Flavia shudder with revulsion.
    “I think you’ll be pleased with the footage,” said Randy, bringing her back to the present. “Maximum bang for the buck.”
    Flavia crossed her legs and leaned back, throwing one arm along the back of the couch. Her short skirt was tight against her tan thighs. She inspected the French manicure on her nails.
    “How do I look?”
    “Fabulous,” he said. “As always.”
    Randy leaned forward until his face was only three inches from the monitor. He squinted at the slow-motion video, and then made some minor adjustments to the digital images with three clicks of his optical mouse.
    “You’re going to ruin your eyes if you keep doing that,” said Flavia.
    Randy turned and made an outlandish face at her.
    “And will my face freeze like this if I don’t stop making faces?”
    Flavia rolled her eyes. Randy turned back to the screen and continued editing the footage.
    “When do you want me to do the voice-overs?” asked Flavia.
    “Give me another hour. I’ll be ready for you then.”
    Maximum bang for the buck.
    Flavia stood up and walked across the room. She stood behind Randy’s chair, pressing her breasts against his back, and massaged his shoulders.
    “Do a good job for me, Randy,” she purred.

Twenty-four
    Dr. Joshua Ambergris’ Residence
Uptown Manhattan, New York
    Arakai surveyed Dr. Joshua Ambergris’ three-story brownstone, located on a quiet side street in uptown Manhattan. Stately and imposing, the brownstone had been in Ambergris’ family for three generations. A tarnished bronze plaque mounted on the dark red brick to the right of the front door read, simply: Ambergris .
    Seeing no one on the street, Arakai moved closer to the front of the building. Ducking behind a row of manicured shrubs, he peered into a window.
    The living room was empty.
    Arakai circled around to the back of the brownstone through a small alley. Through a rear window, he could see a female figure in a faded apron moving about the kitchen. She was wiping the kitchen counter with a pink sponge.
    Ambergris’ housekeeper.
    In quick succession, Arakai examined each of the three rear windows on the bottom floor. They were latched, but Arakai could see no evidence of an electronic security system.
    Careless, Dr. Ambergris.
    Arakai retrieved his knife from its hidden scabbard and slipped the blade between the upper and lower window frames. With a quick flick of his wrist, he disengaged the window’s single, ineffectual lock.
    Placing the blade between his teeth, Arakai quietly raised the window and hoisted himself inside.
     
    Quiz cradled the phone against his ear with his shoulder. “What do you need?” he asked, taking a slug from his third Diet Coke of the day.
    “There’s a lot going on right now, Quiz. I’ll explain everything later. But right now I need for you to search the Triad security server for a hidden file. Grace and I need to access Dr. Ambergris’ research journal. She tells me that he had it hidden by saving the file on the security server under an innocuous-sounding file name. I need you to find it for me.”
    “Shouldn’t be too hard to find,” said Quiz. “But why don’t you just ask Dr. Ambergris where it’s located?”
    “I can’t do that, Quiz. I’ll fill you in on everything soon, but things are happening fast. Can you do this for me?”
    “Sure. What do you want me to do when I find the