Harry sat with his eyes closed visualizing the maps and details from the packet of information Theodore had provided. He would occasionally open his eyes and glance at a sheet to make sure his mental image was accurate. He had no way of knowing what information would be essential, so he was memorizing all of it. They were at 43,000 feet streaking southeast across north central Canada. His concentration was broken when the Air Force sergeant interrupted him saying, "Excuse me, sir. You have a phone call which is secured."
Harry accepted the phone offered to him and the sergeant disappeared forward. He placed the phone to his ear and said, "Hello." There was no response. The phone seemed dead. He looked at the handset closer and saw a flashing button labeled "Hold." He pressed the button and the flashing stopped. He could now hear some static. He said, "Harry here."
Theodore's voice came through saying, "Harry, we have about 7 1/2 minutes before we lose satellite coverage. I may have another case for you. A Jordanian man studying in the US went into a rage and then died during a seizure."
Harry asked, "What did the autopsy show?"
"Wasn't one."
"Can't you get one done? We need to know if he had brain worms."
Theodore responded, "The body was stolen from the morgue before the autopsy could be performed. This happened in some small town in Arizona."
"Did he have any symptoms?"
"The reports are pretty sketchy. Apparently he was accidentally struck by a car and hit his head. His rage became progressive. He pretty much destroyed everything in a store and parking lot, and killed one old-timer. He was shooting everything up and then suddenly developed a seizure and died."
"I wonder if he could have ruptured a cyst when he hit his head?"
Theodore asked, "What would that do?"
Harry explained, "If these brain worms are capable of excreting neurotransmitters, the fluid of the cyst would have a high concentration. If the frontal lobes of the brain were directly stimulated, an uncontrollable rage would develop. That's what happened intermittently to my patient whenever the tumor would release the neurotransmitter. Nothing as dramatic as you described."
"Would it have to be in the frontal lobes?"
"It would be more effective if the frontal lobes were directly stimulated. That's why frontal lobectomies were so effective in controlling rage."
"I thought your patient, which started all of this, had a cyst that blocked his brain's drainage path."
Harry explained, "His acute symptoms were from the blockage. However, he had multiple cysts in his frontal lobes. Apparently these brain worms have a predilection for the frontal lobes. Normally they don't cause much of a problem unless they develop a cyst that blocks the drainage from the ventricles."
Harry waited for a response and finally said, "Are you still there?"
"Just a minute..."
Harry heard typing in the background and figured Theodore was working on his computer while they spoke. Harry glanced at his watch. He wasn't sure when they started talking, but their time must be almost up. Theodore spoke up saying, "The guy who developed the rage attack was studying at the Colorado Institute of Mining. His major was structural engineering and he had a scholarship from an organization called The Institute for Advancement of Arab Science. Guess who the main benefactor is for this Institute?"
"How would I know?"
"Figured you would guess. It's one Doctor Ahmad."
"The same guy you think kidnapped my wife?"
"The scholarship is awarded in memory of his wife. I think we had better get a handle on any other recipients. There doesn't seem to be much public information on this Institute. Our time is about out. It'll be another hour or so before we have secure coverage. I'll call you back if I come up with anything else. All the information I can find on the security system will be waiting for you when you arrive in Minneapolis."
Harry was about to ask what coursework this Jordanian had been taking when the phone went silent.
Harry thought about the new information for just a few minutes and then did what most professional soldiers would do when faced with information which didn't add up: he slept. He dreamt of Angie playing at a concert hall when a group of madmen broke in and began destroying the place. Angie ignored the uproar and continued to play. He was struggling through the crowd trying to reach her to protector her, but the mass of humanity plugging the aisle kept him away. He awoke with a start, covered with sweat. At least he hadn't destroyed the airplane seat, as he had the metal headboard in Council. He glanced at his watch. Another 10 minutes or so before Theodore would call back.
He closed his eyes again. Only this time, Harry visualized how the brain worms could invade the frontal lobes. Laura had explained how the larva travel in the blood stream and then work their way directly into the tissues. How would you train these worms to concentrate in the frontal lobes? He could think of no vascular difference that would signal the worms to exit the blood vessels in the brain, rather than the liver or muscle. He began wondering how they got out of the blood vessels. Did they actually chew their way through the vessel wall and into the brain tissue? If about 10% of the blood flow went to the brain, wouldn't 90% of the worms end up in other tissues? It seemed injecting the worms directly into the brain would be the most efficient, but his patient had no evidence of previous surgery.
Maybe they entered through the cribriform plate. Yet how would you keep the larva against the cribriform plate? This porous bone at the roof of the nose allowed the nerve endings to connect the brain directly with the nose for the sense of smell. He had patched leaks of brain fluid through the cribriform plate by lifting the frontal lobes and putting a patch over the porous bone. It would be the most direct connection. However, since it was open below to the throat, training the worms to migrate through the bone openings seemed impossible. You could inject the worms through the bone. But there was no way of sterilizing the nose. So, infection would be a major problem. Maybe if you injected the worms into the sphenoid sinus they would find their way up through the cribriform plate. It wasn't making much sense. Harry’s musings were interrupted again by the phone.
Theodore said, "I think I've found the connection. This student who went berserk had been studying at a university in Jordan before his transfer. The religious teacher who led his religious studies group is considered a threat because of his teachings. I've found several calls between this guy and the religious teacher who Doctor Ahmad studies under."
"And?"
"I just have the times and dates of the calls but no recordings. Another coincidence which seems to link these events together."
Harry asked, "Was this Jordanian, the religious teacher, teaching the usual religious war stuff?"
Harry could hear Theodore typing in the background and after just a few seconds Theodore replied, "Nope. Seems he's convinced that his religious group must take an active part in the ongoing battle between God and Satan."
"Why would this create a security threat?"
Theodore answered, "This theology stuff isn't something I enjoy - more your bag than mine. Seems the offending statements have something to do with martyrs who die fighting Satan getting a higher reward in heaven. He goes on to speak about innocent lives who are lost in the battle also being rewarded."
Harry asked, "Is Satan identified?"
Theodore worked his keyboard before answering, "Just as a fallen angel. Nothing political that I can see. I'm not sure how this relates to his being listed as a security threat - other than martyrdom being related to the suicide bombers. Do you see a connection I’m missing?"
"I would expect it has something to do with the innocent lives being lost implying collateral casualties… Keep digging. Where does this Doctor Ahmad get the funds to sponsor those scholarships?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention that. Seems the cellular phone company that your Doctor Ahmad is involved with is extremely profitable an
d privately held. As best as I can tell, the profits are from exorbitant charges to customers in the Middle East. The money flows back through Doctor Ahmad to other charities and institutions. All quite legal but sort of fishy."
Harry mused, "Seems like my car exploding when I tried to use my cell phone may be more than a coincidence. I think we need to keep looking at this connection. Anything else?"
"We’re about out of satellite coverage. The security system at Doctor Ahmad's estate is quite elaborate. It’ll be a challenge, but I'll try to get everything organized by the time you land in Minneapolis."
"How about gear and equipment?"
"Being organized as we speak. Getting stuff your size is still a problem. It'll all be unmarked and hopefully untraceable. Looks like your best approach is going to be from the lake."
"Any help?"
"I've activated José. We're not authorized to operate stateside, so nobody's going to accept responsibility. If I can find anything firmer I'll get the security folks involved. Until then you'll be on your own. Getting the FBI involved would be an issue because they're looking for you as a suspect."
"Theodore, one more thing…thanks."
Harry heard Theodore start to say something but the phone line went dead. Harry muttered to himself, "You would think with all this satellite communication stuff a person could finish a conversation." He knew Theodore was probably working with pretty stringent security issues but it was a pain just the same. The information dots were slowly starting to line up, and with time they'd get it solved. His thoughts turned to Angie and his anxiety increased again.