“Wei had been given a dose according to the newest protocol of respirocytes in a secret training location in China.”

“What!” Berman shot out of his seat, only to be thrust back down into it by the guards. “That is outrageous! That is not how it was to be. We have our agreement! The technology is hardly finished, and you’ve stolen it already.”

“I wouldn’t say we have stolen it. We borrowed some respirocytes, as a loan against the sum—the huge sum, I might add—we are about to pay for the ability to share proprietary information and manufacture the nanorobots in China. And we are sitting here to complete our end of the deal. So really no harm has been done.”

Jimmy turned and spoke to one of the associates at the table.

“What is he saying?” Berman asked Whitney. “Did you know anything about this?”

“No! Of course not. He is asking for the wire transfer to be prepared.”

“I don’t have the decryption key for the Web sites with the technological specs,” said Berman. “I didn’t imagine I’d need them today.”

“I took the liberty of bringing your machine with me,” said Jimmy, and handed Berman his laptop.

“Why are you doing this? Why are we not waiting for the marathon, as we agreed?”

“We decided we didn’t have to wait. My superiors added more conditions to the deal, and they insisted I not share them with you. We had to replicate your anticipated success at the championships with a winning runner of our own. As the men’s marathon is the last event, that presented us with a problem.”

“How did you get hold of the respirocytes? Do you have spies in my company? Who are they? I’ll find out if you don’t tell me, and there’ll be hell to pay.”

“Zachary, please do not get agitated about any of this. You are wasting your energy. We are fully committed to nanotechnology and our partnership, and this money is the sign of our commitment. Miss Jones, please look at these details on the screen. Tell me if they look good to you.”

Jimmy slid the two laptops over to Whitney, and she read the information. The amount of money, the huge amount, was correct. The bank was right; she had memorized the account number, and that was good, too.

“It looks fine to me,” she said. “Everything seems to be in order.”

“How can I ever trust you again?” Berman was staring at Jimmy. His voice wavered.

“That is not for me to answer, Zachary.” Jimmy said. “Understand that the situation was out of my control. You have to believe me. Now please, if you could pass me the codes, we will access the Web site.”

“And then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“What happens after I do that?”