A few more tentative steps, and he could make out a figure, standing on top of a large boulder. The figure, really a silhouette in the deepening shadows, was waving to him with both hands. Thankfully, it became quickly apparent that the man—for it almost certainly was a man—was tall and lean, not at all like either Drake or Costello.

Slipping on rocks and wading in the cold seawater, Kazimi waved back and quickened his pace. Allah had heard his prayers and answered them. Whoever this man was, he would know of a passageway along the rocks that could bring him to the top of the cliff. The Janus strain was going to be the next great plague unless Kazimi could warn the government to abandon all pretense of secrecy and to put as concerted an effort into stopping Janus as it had the AIDS virus. Hopefully, there was still time to stop it from happening.

“Hello!” Kazimi cried out. “I need help! Help me, please!”

His words were swallowed by the wind and the building sea.

Racing ahead, he stumbled, lost his footing, and fell heavily onto a wet, barnacle-covered rock, slicing his palms and knees like a nest of razors. He cried out at the pain, but it was of no matter. Whatever the price of escape, he would pay it. In seconds he was up and shambling ahead as best he could, peering through the gloom at his savior, mussel shells crunching beneath his feet. The man ahead remained motionless except for his arms, which continued to wave rhythmically back and forth.

As the distance between Kazimi and the man narrowed, he slowed his pace. The fellow’s features were coming into focus. There was something familiar about him—something about his narrow face and corn-colored hair.

Burke!

It was far too late for Kazimi to turn and run now. The killer, dressed in a navy blue sweatsuit with white stripes running down the sleeves, casually slid a pistol from a shoulder holster, and trained the weapon on him.

“From this distance I can shoot you in plenty of places that would be terribly painful, but won’t keep you from working,” he called out.

Kazimi kept his distance, so Burke, wearing high-cuts, jumped nimbly from his boulder and closed the gap between them until just a few feet remained.

“Did you really think we’d just let you walk away?” he asked.

“How long have you been watching me?”