Page 8 of Dark Chains: First Link
Eluheed had briefed Kian about the two Russian scientists who had been brought to the island to run the Brotherhood's enhancement program, and Volkov was one of them. He and Doctor Konstantin Petrov had been continuing Doctor Zhao's work, developing the drugs that kept the enhanced soldiers functioning.
"What the hell was Volkov doing with Losham's phone?" Kian asked. "And why was he calling us?"
"He somehow got the phone while Losham was sleeping. He wants us to help him and his friends escape the island. He, Petrov, and Volkov's girlfriend, a woman named Matilda Johnson, want out, but here's where this unexpected development gets really bizarre. He said that the Eight enhanced soldiers are working with them and offering to help them escape."
Bizarre was not the adjective that Kian would have chosen to describe the situation.
He'd questioned Eluheed extensively about the enhancement program, but the shaman had only superficial knowledge about what had been done to those soldiers. The unintended side effect of the drugs they had been given was that they had somehow created a combined consciousness and were communicating with each other telepathically. But it had been weeks since Eluheed had last interacted with them, and the Eight might have developed additional abilities since then, or conversely, they could have deteriorated.
According to the shaman, they were highly unstable and dangerous.
"Are you sure it was Volkov on the line?" Kian asked.
The last time Eluheed had contact with what remained of the enhanced soldiers, they had been imprisoned in the lab and kept in isolation. They hadn't been treated well and were quite hostile. Evidently that was no longer the case, and the Eight could be controlling Volkov and forcing him to initiate contact with the clan, or they could be pretending to be the Russian scientist.
Was it Losham's idea as a way to get free of Toven's compulsion? Had he released the Eight so he could use them as a Trojan horse? Sent to wreak havoc on the clan and kill as many of Annani's descendants as possible?
"I can't be a hundred percent sure," Onegus said. "But the accent sounded right, and the mention of a girlfriend adds credence to his story, although I have no idea how he managed to have a female lab assistant in that bastion of rabid patriarchy."
"Anyone can imitate a Russian accent," Kian said.
"Not that well. He sounded like a native Russian who has been speaking English for years. He also knew who we were and that we've been in contact with Losham."
Since Losham had been compelled to keep the connection a secret, the only way Volkov could have found out about it was if he'd overheard Losham talking with Toven or someone who had told him about it.
The Eight, perhaps?
Their telepathic powers could have increased since Eluheed had last seen them, and they could have picked the information from Losham's head. That made them very dangerous.
"How did he get Losham's phone from his bedroom while he was sleeping? Given that Navuh's other adopted sons want to get rid of Losham, I'm sure the guy is employing heavy security."
"Volkov didn't specify their method of obtaining it, only that they borrowed it while Losham was sleeping and that they needed to return it before he woke up. Losham is not supposed to find out that his phone has been used by anyone other than himself."
"It was probably done by the enhanced soldiers." Kian rubbed his jaw.
If they possessed powerful telepathic abilities, they could infiltrate Losham's home by mentally incapacitating him and his security guards.
"I wonder—" he started.
"Forgive me, Kian." Onegus cut him off, which the chief almost never did. "But we are short on time, so we need to leave the analyzing for later. I promised Volkov I'd call him back within twenty minutes. I can connect you on a three-way call, which would save us time, but if you want me to come to your office or if you want to assemble the entire team, we will need all the allotted time just for that."
Kian's first instinct was to bring in Turner to strategize and possibly William to evaluate the communication, but that could wait for later. Right now, he needed to assess what they were dealing with and organize accordingly.
"At this stage, the two of us are more than enough. We can brief the others afterward."
"That's what I thought," Onegus said. "But I had to know what you wanted to do. Now I have time to tell you the rest of what he said before I call him back."
"Go on."
"The reason for the urgency is that they need to return the phone to Losham before four in the morning, their time. That gives us roughly an hour and fifteen minutes from the moment I call back, which is not much, but enough for a first contact."
"Did he say why four in the morning was the deadline?"
"No, but I assume that it's related to Losham's routine. He probably wakes up around that time, or the guard shifts change, or there's some other window that they need to work within."
Stealing Losham's phone was a bold and risky move. If they were discovered or if Losham noticed the phone was missing, the consequences would most likely be execution, but not before torturing them for information. People who took risks like that were desperate and determined.
"I assume that their calling us is encrypted with the same protocols we use when we call Losham, correct?"
