“It isn’t the same as murdering children,” Remi spat.

“Are you kidding me? I just told you that the same thing has been done in Africa for most of the twentieth century.”

“That’s a rationalization for taking money from the same drug companies you claim to despise and conducting research that would land you in prison for life. It’s got nothing to do with idealism, and everything with money,” Sam countered.

“You can’t be that blind. This is the way the world works. The appetite for medical miracles is insatiable, and there are large tracts of the planet that are off the radar, where shortcuts can be had, saving years, and sometimes decades, so developed nations can enjoy breakthroughs. Do you really believe that ethics and morality, which shift depending on which side of a border you’re on, guide behavior all over the world?”

She frowned. “Your government, your corporations, are guilty of so-called crimes as bad, or worse, than anything I’ve done here. For all your self-righteousness, you’re no better than I am. You want the benefits—you just don’t want to hear about how the sausage is made.”

“You swore an oath—the Hippocratic oath. Which you’re violating every day,” Lazlo said.

“I merely grasp that in order to progress, one needs to make accommodations. Compromises. I’m focused on results. We’re no different at all. I simply admit what I have to do in order to get things done. You want to remain ignorant.” She snapped her fingers and the gunmen stepped forward. “I’m tired of this. Good job capturing them. You have my permission to use whatever means necessary to obtain the information I’m after.” The chilling smile returned as she fixed Sam with a hard stare. “Artifacts indeed. Before you join the skeletons in the cave, you’ll tell my men the truth about what you were doing here.”

“We told you the truth.”

“You told me fairy tales. But we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“So now you’re going to have your rebel associates torture us? Is that also in the interests of medical expediency?” Lazlo demanded.

“Think of that as a fringe benefit of being the leader of the so-called rebels.”

Understanding settled over Remi’s face. “You’re behind all this? But Manchester was your friend . . .”

“Orwen was a drunk and a fool. For the only time in his life—in death—he served a productive purpose.”

“You sat with him, ate with him, joked with him . . .”

“And enjoyed myself. But he was standing in the way of progress. That’s always a dangerous stance to take and he paid the price.”

“You really are nuts,” Sam muttered disgustedly.

“Perhaps. But your opinion on the matter is irrelevant. Soon you’ll be part of the boneyard, dead and forgotten in a mass grave.”

“Then you’re nothing but a common murderer,” Remi said. “After all the lofty rhetoric, you’ll murder to protect yourself, to keep your evil from becoming known.”

“Don’t forget to make money,” Sam said. “Why do I suspect that this whole popular rebellion is nothing but a pretense for a swindle? Remember who’s talking—a woman who will experiment on her fellow islanders for a buck while coloring it as some noble way of getting cures to market.”

Vanya sneered at them. “Say what you like. This discussion is finished. It was nice knowing you. I would have enjoyed taking your money for the clinics, if that’s any consolation.”

“You won’t be able to keep your crimes secret,” Sam said. “We’ve made a find that will put Guadalcanal on the national news and have scientists swarming over the island. It’s just a matter of time until they come across your misdeeds and then you’ll be judged harshly by the same laws you believe don’t apply to you.”

“Right. Assuming the Solomon Islands government allows them access to the island. Which is doubtful at this point in light of the antiforeigner sentiment ruling the day.” She eyed Sam like an owl would a mouse. “And at some point soon I can see the caves being destroyed by demolition charges I’ve already had placed, erasing any evidence. And before long I’m going to be rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, so I won’t have to bother with chasing pennies from pharmaceutical companies for doing their dirty work. I’ll be a billionaire many times over, at which point all this becomes an unnecessary distraction.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Sam tried, struggling to hide the distaste he felt. “Once the caves are destroyed, there’s no proof of anything. You said so yourself.”

“True, but I don’t need a pair of multimillionaires claiming I’m the Antichrist. I’m not so provincial that I don’t understand you could stir up enough interest to drive an investigation. No, I’m afraid there’s only one way this ends. You and your colleagues must die. Think of it as a noble sacrifice, if it makes you feel any better, makes your deaths seem meaningful to you.” She checked her watch. “And now I’m afraid I have a hospital to run and politicians to counsel. Good-bye, Sam and Remi Fargo. And you—whatever your name is,” she said, eyeing Lazlo.

The nearest gunman held the iron barrier open for her and both men followed her out, shutting the heavy door and locking it behind them. The sound of the bolt sliding into place was as final as the closing of a coffin lid. As Vanya’s and the men’s footsteps echoed down the passageway, Sam and Remi shared a bleak look with Lazlo.

Sam was the first to speak. “Tell me about what you saw when they brought us in here.”

Remi collected her thoughts and eyed the door. “This cave is farther down the ridge from the one with the bodies and the one we were ambushed in. This is probably all part of the same cave system, though—maybe the fork we didn’t take when we were making our escape.”

“How far in are we?”

“We went through two smaller caves after we entered the mountain.” Remi shuddered. “The one on the other side of the door has the medical equipment and beds in it. It smelled like death.”

Sam nodded. “Think hard. Is there anything we can use, anything either of you saw, that could help us?”

Remi and Lazlo were silent for several moments and then Lazlo shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Bit of a bind this time, I’d say.”

Sam looked at Remi. “Anything at all?”

“If we could get into the next room, some of the equipment could be used as weapons. The oxygen tanks. Some of the cleansers and solvents . . .”

Sam grunted. “Help me up. I want to look at the door.”

Remi and Lazlo did as Sam asked and they approached the iron door, Remi supporting Sam. He ran his fingers over the hinges, examined where rust was bleeding down the seams, and gave Remi a sour look. He didn’t have to say that there was no way they could work the oversized pins loose—the door had to weigh hundreds of pounds and had been competently installed, framed by concrete rather than the softer limestone of the cave walls.

“They built quite a bunker here,” Lazlo said. “The door and the cement look old. Might have been the Japanese.”

Sam studied the metal slab. “Probably. The Japanese built a lab for their experiments and the good doctor took it over. Makes sense—if the Japanese did it correctly, they probably bored ventilation shafts and ran wiring. All Dr. Vanya had to do was step in and modify it, depending on its condition when she found—”

Sam’s rumination was interrupted by the lights shutting off with a snap, plunging the cave into darkness.

CHAPTER 49

They stood frozen in the pitch black, afraid to move. A muffled thump echoed from the other side of the door, followed by silence.

“What do you think this is? Desensitization technique?” Sam whispered to Remi.

“Could be they just want to save their power for more important things than prisoners they plan to torture and kill,” Remi said.